Barcelona vs Valencia match preview and predictions for Saturday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as two of Spanish football’s crisis clubs clash.
- DATE: Saturday 19th December 2020
- KICK-OFF: 16:15 (local time)
- VENUE: Camp Nou
- COMPETITION: LaLiga
Barcelona vs Valencia Preview
Perhaps the standout fixture this weekend in LaLiga comes from Camp Nou. Certainly in terms of size and stature it is but there are those that question whether Barcelona are even title contenders this season given their inconsistency and the nature of some of their displays. Valencia are another big club going through a tough time on and off the pitch.
This will be Barcelona’s 3rd home league match in the space of 7 days and they have won the previous two. Lionel Messi’s late goal was enough to seal a 1-0 win against Levante last weekend and they then beat leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 in an entertaining game in midweek in which both sides spurned good chances. Ultimately 1st Half goals from Jordi Alba and Frenkie de Jong were enough to seal an important victory that at least eases fears that Barcelona might even struggle to make the top four.
With games against Real Valladolid, Eibar and Huesca quickly following this, Ronald Koeman’s side do on paper have a really good chance to put a winning streak together which would see them propel themselves up the table and right back into title contention. However that niggling suspension that another nightmare display is around the corner remains with the balance of the team still clearly not quite right.
As for Valencia, they are the one club in LaLiga that can rival Barcelona in terms of how badly they’ve been run off the pitch over the past few years. An unhappy truce between the board and latest coach Javi Gracia is likely to break at some point but for now the 50 year old boss is doing the best he can in difficult circumstances.
Los Che head into this match having only won one of their last eight league matches but they’ve been grinding out more draws of late with just one defeat in their last six. That solitary recent victory did come against Real Madrid which is perhaps a good omen here. Having narrowly avoided a huge shock against minnows Terrassa in the Copa del Rey in midweek, some of their young players may just relish the chance to strut their stuff at Camp Nou in a game where there is little expectation on them to get a result.
Read all our weekend LaLiga previews here!
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Barcelona Wins, 2 Valencia Wins, 2 Draws.
- Barcelona have won 4 of the last 5 meetings at Camp Nou.
- The exception was a 2-2 draw in February 2019.
- However Barca have only won 1 of the last 5 meetings overall – a 5-2 win in this fixture last season.
Team News
There are no fresh injuries for Barca to contend with. Ousmane Dembélé is still a doubt.
Former Barca keeper Jasper Cillessen and Kevin Gameiro are the main absentees for Valencia.
Predicted Barcelona Starting Lineup:
Ter Stegen – Alba, Lenglet, Araujo, Dest – De Jong, Busquets – Coutinho, Messi, Pedri – Griezmann (4-2-3-1)
Predicted Valencia Starting Lineup:
Domenech – Gaya, Diakhaby, Gabriel, Wass – Guedes, Soler, Racic, Musah – Gomez, Vallejo (4-4-2)
Barcelona vs Valencia Predictions
Score Prediction: Barcelona 2-2 Valencia
Valencia have scored twice on each of their last two visits to Camp Nou and with what should be very close to their strongest XI available, they still have enough quality to cause problems for the top teams, particularly on the break with the likes of Goncalo Guedes and promising youngster Yunus Musah. Los Che may just get a result here against this unconvincing Barcelona team.
LaLiga Betting Tips (18+)
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