Barcelona and Valencia meet in a match of the 22nd round of La Liga. The confrontation will be held on Saturday, not before 17:30 pm, on Camp Nou.
In the turn of the season, more precisely in the 8th round, the two teams drew Estadio de Mestalla from Valencia, score 1-1, Ezequiel Garay (2 ‘) and Lionel Messi (23’) being the two scorers. No less than 26 games played in Barcelona (La Liga, Spanish Cup and Champions League), 15 of which were won by the host team, while guests were forced 6 times, the last time in 2016 (championship) with the score of 2-1.
After the 0-2 defeat in Sevilla, the band prepared by Ernesto Valverde Tejedor took revenge on the return of Camp Nou, where they handed the Andalusians one of the most dramatic failures of the season, 6-1, thus qualifying in the Spanish Cup semifinals. That was the 5th consecutive success of the Catalans on their own.
Rafinha, Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele are injured and will not be on the pitch in this confrontation, while Sergio Busquets is suspended.
“Bats” crossed one of the best times of this season, with 4 wins won in the last 5 games played in all competitions. The last success came in the Spanish Cup, 3-1 in front of Getafe, while in the previous championship stage they were forced to score (3-0) in front of Villareal, through the goals scored by Mouctar Diakhaby (4 ‘), Denis Cheryshev (51’) and Rodrigo (86 ‘), both sides being played on their own ground.
Marcelino García Toral will not count Goncalo Guedes, Geoffrey Kondogbia (injured) and Mouctar Diakhaby (suspended) in this duel, while Ezequiel Garay is uncertain.
Probable teams:
Barcelona: Ter Stegen – Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba – Vidal, Rakitic, Arthur – Messi, Suarez, Coutinho;
Valencia: Neto – Piccini, Paulista, Garay, Gaya – Soler, Parejo, Coquelin, Cheryshev – Moreno, Mina;
PREDICTION: Over 3.5 goals @ 1.91
