Barcelona vs Valencia
Things are looking a little brighter at the Camp Nou after two La Liga wins as it has almost banished the memory of back-to-back defeats.
Now the Blaugrana have an excellent chance to make it three on the bounce when Valencia come to town.
Head coach Ronald Koeman always knew he’d be under serious pressure in his first season at the club, but he’ll be hoping it won’t be his last after losing four of the first 10 games.
His team is slowly but surely climbing up the table and now sits in fifth place, and he won’t want any slip-ups against 12th-placed Valencia.
Captain Lionel Messi is starting to look happier back to football after a close season of speculation and recrimination. And when Leo is firing, Barca invariably win.
Real Madrid’s victory over Atletico last week blew the title race wide open and now Barcelona have the chance to reel in the leaders if they can go on a winning run.
The latest La Liga 2020 betting odds are predicting a three-horse race between the two Madrid teams and Barcelona.
Koeman’s men have six points to makeup but there’s a long way to go, and a win on Saturday would be the perfect start.
Talking points
Barcelona showing signs of life
Defeats to both Atletico and Real Madrid cast some doubt on Barca’s ability to win the six-pointers but they had a confidence boosting result on Wednesday.
The Blaugrana had a big game against Sociedad and they came through it, coming from behind with goals from Jordi Alba and a winner from Frenkie de Jong.
Alba’s strike was a curling beauty and the Blaugrana visibly grew in confidence as Antoine Griezmann smashed a shot against the crossbar, while keeper Ter Stegen was in fine form to repel a late Sociedad threat.
Messi wasn’t on target but he did get the crucial goal when Barca got back to winning ways against Levante the previous week, and he’ll be confident of adding to his five league goals against Valencia on Saturday.
Los Che in a rut
It’s only just over a month since Valencia hammered Real Madrid 4-1 to shock the football world as midfield maestro Carlos Soler converted three penalties.
That result was one of the big La Liga 2020 news stories of the campaign so far, and it took Javi Gracia’s team up to the ninth place and a point outside the European places.
But three draws and a defeat in the last four games have seen them drift back into mid-table and three points above the drop zone, so a trip to the Camp Nou isn’t exactly an ideal way to try to arrest the slide.
It isn’t all bad news as Los Che have lost just once in five matches and they came into this clash on the back of a 4-2 Copa del Rey victory over Terrassa, although that game went to extra time after the minnows scored a late equaliser.
Gracia’s team carries an attacking threat with strikers Maxi Gomez and Manu Vallejo backed up by Soler, who has three assists to add to his five league goals.
But with keeper Jasper Cillessen and left-back Jose Gaya out injured, the Valencia defence can be exposed and I expect goals at the Camp Nou as will Barca fans!
History
Barca have had the best of the head-to-heads, winning 32 of the 63 meetings between these two teams since 1993, with Valencia winning 14 and there have been 17 draws.
When playing at home, Barcelona have not lost to Valencia in their last five encounters, with the last clash at the Camp Nou ending in a 5-2 home win.
But at the last meeting in January at the Mestalla, Valencia triumphed 2-0 as Maxi Gomez helped himself to a brace – the first with the aid of a deflection from Jordi Alba.
I can’t see a repeat of that outcome so let’s take a look at the latest SBOTOP odds and find the value.
Betting Tip
 |
 |
Barcelona vs Valencia | Barcelona Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 1.85 |
| December 19, 23:15 (GMT+8) |
Well, the Blaugrana are at 1.28 to win with the draw at 5.22 and Valencia a long shot at 8.68.
Have Barca finally got over their early-season blip? Well, if they can’t beat Los Che that would be in doubt.
But a big win over Sociedad, a skipper with a determined look about him, and an opponent which has lost the winning habit lead me to believe Barca will nail this one.
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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