Valencia vs Barcelona
La Liga championship contenders Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Sevilla are all going to root for the home side when Valencia host Barcelona this Sunday at the Mestalla.
The race for the title is definitely going down to the wire in these remaining matchdays, which is why a huge sense of urgency is felt especially for a team like Barcelona.
After suffering an untimely defeat against Granada in the last time out, Barcelona missed their golden opportunity to move on top of the La Liga standings. However, they have stayed at the third spot, level with Real Madrid in points at 71.
Meanwhile, the hosts are merely searching for security as far as their top-flight status is concerned. As of this writing, Valencia are placed 14th with 36 points. However, they are only six points clear to 17th-placed Real Valladolid and 18th-placed Elche.
Los Che will remember fondly on how their reverse fixture turned out and they are out to grab more points at the expense of their visitors.
Read on below as SBOTOP examines both of these clubs through this match preview.
Talking Points
Valencia’s defence need to step up
Javi Gracia’s side needs a few more positive La Liga 2021 results in order to confirm their top-flight status next term.
Valencia had an underwhelming month of April since they are winless in their last five league games. However, their outings have been a mixed bag.
They had uncharacteristic losses against lower-tier sides in Cadiz and Osasuna, but they were able to hold the likes of Real Sociedad, Real Betis, and Alaves in draws that featured two to four goals.
It remains a mystery as to why Los Che aren’t fighting for a European qualification despite having a decent squad.
The duo of Carlos Soler and Goncalo Guedes offer a one-two punch at the wings, while Manu Vallejo, Maxi Gomez, and Kevin Gameiro are all quality players as well.
Soler is their leading scorer with eight goals and five assists. Vallejo and Gomez combine for 10 goals while Gameiro and Guedes have put in four and three apiece.
While attacking isn’t a problem for Los Che, their backline is a huge concern since they’re the fifth-worst defensive team in the league in conceding goals (48). They also have yet to secure a clean sheet in more than two months.
Jasper Cillessen’s absence at the goalpost have hurt Valencia’s backline to a large degree as backup Jaume Domenech has yet to prove his worth, and Barcelona are certain to exploit that this weekend.
Barcelona will brush off minor lapse
Despite their latest setback, the Blaugrana shouldn’t lack in confidence when they pay a visit at the Mestalla.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had a 29th birthday to forget as they were caught off guard by Granada, and now their path to the championship just got a little harder.
Barcelona looked like they were on their way to extend their unbeaten run this year especially after Lionel Messi drew first blood in the first half, but Darwin Machis and Jorge Molina had other plans.
To make matters worse, Ronald Koeman was perplexed when he was sent off late, summing up Barcelona’s bad evening.
That setback should motivate the Catalan giants to come out firing at the Mestalla, and I reckon that they’re going to send an emphatic statement to the rest of La Liga with a comprehensive victory.
History
Barcelona are going to be licking their chops if they’ll take a look at their head-to-heads against Valencia.
In the last 54 matches, the Blaugrana are winners 26 times, while Los Che have won 12 times along with 16 draws.
These teams last met just before Christmas where the game ended in a 2-2 score.
Mouctar Diakhaby drew first blood with a 29th-minute score, but Barcelona blitzed Valencia with goals from Lionel Messi and Ronald Araujo after that.
Messi achieved a major milestone in the process as his goal before the halftime break equalled Pele’s all-time record of 643 one-club goals.
Maxi Gomez eventually found the equaliser during the 69th minute, and that was enough to share the spoils at Camp Nou.
Betting Tip
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Valencia vs Barcelona | Barcelona Asian Handicap -1.25 @ 1.83 |
| May 03, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
The La Liga 2021 odds are favouring the Catalan giants as expected.
Barcelona are the odds-on favourites to win at 1.37, whereas Valencia are pegged at 7.80 and a draw is at 4.70 in the 1×2 market.
Given how Barcelona faltered against Granada last Thursday, fans may take this betting recommendation with a grain of salt.
However, that shouldn’t be the case since Valencia are much worse compared to Granada.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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