La Liga: Barca to Master the Mestalla

Valencia vs Barcelona

Barcelona aim to get their title challenge back on track on Saturday when they travel to the legendary Mestalla Stadium to face mid-table Valencia.

Los Ches’ fans are among the loudest and most passionate in world football, and they will give the Catalans a hostile reception; it’s a big test, and one that Xavi’s Barca will be ready for. Valencia lost away to Getafe last week, a result which left them in 11th place in the La Liga table, ten points behind the European places and nine points above the drop zone. 

The Blaugrana will arrive in Valencia trying to shake off back-to-back defeats, they lost at home to league leaders Girona last week to drop seven points off the pace. And then   

Barca had a trip away to Antwerp on Wednesday in a Champions League dead rubber. The Catalans are already through to the Round of 16, but Xavi put out a strong side which lost 3-2 to give Royal Antwerp their first ever Champions League victory.

A poor result in Valencia could seriously derail Barca’s title defence but I think they will edge a tight affair. 

Talking Points

Is consolidation okay for Los Ches?  

Valencia’s clash with high flying Girona, two weeks ago, showed just how far Los Ches have come over the last year.

Hugo Duro put them ahead of the surprise leaders, and only two late goals from Cristhian Stuani deprived Valencia of a famous win. Head coach Ruben Baraja is Valencia through and through; he played 263 games for Los Ches as a dominant midfielder before coaching their youth teams at the start of his managerial career. He knows the Mestalla crowd is demanding, and a win over Barcelona would do him a big favour as he enters the second half of the campaign.

When he took over last year, the club was in disarray and staring relegation in the face, but now they are looking to consolidate. Valencia are well clear of the drop zone and cut adrift from the leading pack, but Baraja is hoping to strengthen in the January transfer window, looking for a winger to increase the supply to top scorer Duro.

The hosts will be without two key players for this clash after skipper and central defender Gabriel Paulista was sent off against Getafe, as was midfielder Javi Guerra, and that will make another tough test even harder.

Barcelona bounce back on the way…

It’s been a bad week for Barcelona who followed up a shock 4-2 defeat at home to Girona with another unexpected loss in Antwerp. Apparently club president Joan Laporta was outraged by the performance in Belgium, and I bet Xavi wasn’t particularly amused either!

The loss has made Barca’s title defence tougher for sure. Real Madrid are the favourites to win the title, with the latest La Liga 2023 betting odds pricing them at 1.60. Barcelona are second favourites but now out to a price of 5.00, with Girona and Atletico Madrid not far behind at 6.50 and 9.50.

It’s pretty much a four-horse race and while Barca beat Atleti two weeks ago, losing the Battle of Catalonia last week was a blow. But Xavi has the players to turn things around, and quickly. In the run out against Antwerp Lamine Yamal became the first 16 year old to register a Champions League assist and wide man Ferran Torres was on target; both have made their fair share of La Liga 2023 highlights this season and will be pushing for a start against Valencia.    

History

Barcelona have bossed the head-to-head encounters with Valencia over the past three decades, winning 37 to 14 matches while there have been 18 draws, and Barca have won the last five meetings, doing the double last term with two 1-0 victories.

Neither team has been in great form recently; Valencia have won two, drawn one, and lost three of the last six, while Barcelona have won three, drawn one, and lost two.

Betting Tip

At SBOTOP odds of 4.60 to win this match or 3.49 to draw, this is a tough task for Los Ches, while the Blaugrana are short at 1.61, and this is a game Xavi’s team needs to win to keep up with the pace at the top. They are unbeaten on the road, but Barca have drawn four of their seven away games this season.

Another 1-0 win for Barcelona is the most likely outcome in this game, and that would suit Xavi just perfectly.

 

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