Barcelona entertains Valencia at Camp Nou and will look to solidify their place at the top of La Liga while Valencia will be seeking to continue with their good momentum. Here’s the Big Game Focus. You can bet on this match by clicking here.
Reigning La Liga champions Barcelona are in rampant form. They thoroughly thrashed Sevilla 6-1 on Wednesday, overturning a two-goal deficit to sail through to the Copa del Rey semi-final. They have won eight in a row in La Liga and are five points clear at the top of the table. Although the Blaugrana have dominated this fixture, Valencia has been a fierce competitor for them.
The visitors are also in some good form. They reacted really well against Getafe, who scored in the first minute of the second leg in the Copa del Rey, in a game which Los Che eventually won 3-1 to seal their place in the last four. After a shaky start to the season, Valencia have gradually clawed their way back into the top half of the table and have lost only once in their last five games.
Valencia have a terrible record against Barcelona. They’ve not beaten Barcelona in the last seven attempts. However they registered a victory at the Camp Nou in 2016 and will keep this in mind on Saturday night.
Betting Preview
Barcelona have won three out of the four last games against the visitors. Coupled with the red-hot form of Lionel Messi, Barcelona have been unplayable when at home. Bet on a Home Win at odds of 1.30.
Both teams have not scored more than four goals between them in each of the last five matches between them. Valencia held the champions to a 1-1 draw in the first leg back in October. You can back Under 3.5 goals at odds of 1.85 for this game.
Lionel Messi has scored a total of 25 goals for Barcelona against Valencia in all competitions. He also scored against them in their last encounter. You can back Lionel Messi as Anytime Goalscorer at odds of 1.60.
Team News
Barcelona will miss the services of World Cup winners Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele alongside long-term absentee Rafinha.
Valencia will be without Kevin Gameiro who was injured in the first leg of Valencia’s Copa del Rey clash against Getafe. They’ll also miss midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia and forward Goncalo Guedes.
Possible line-ups
Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Vidal, Busquets, Rakitic, Messi, Suarez, Coutinho
Valencia: Neto, Piccini, Paulista, Garay, Gaya, Soler, Parejo, Coquelin, Cheryshev, Rodrigo, Mina