Valencia CF | FC Barcelona |
Valencia CF is facing FC Barcelona this Sunday in what has the potential to be a very exciting match. Valencia CF desperately need the three points to avoid relegation, while FC Barcelona desperately need the three points to stay in the title race. Historically FC Barcelona have done very well against Valencia CF in the Mestalla, but Valencia CF have been a tricky opponent in recent years, winning at times when no one though possible, ruining Barca's plans.
FC Barcelona had a home match in midweek against Granada CF in which they lost 2-1, which shows that there are weaknesses in their play and they are not so unbeatable. Most of their top players featured in that match as well, so they are likely going to be slightly tired, though considering most of their players have been playing a very dense week for years, they are used to it, but still I'd give slight fitness advantage to Valencia CF, though that hasn't helped us at all this season judging by our results.
Valencia's coach Javi Gracia days at the club are numbered, once the season is over he is going to be sacked and a search for a new coach will begin. There have been a lot of rumors about possible replacements, from old school Claudio Ranieri to Jose Mourinho and recently Roberto Moreno being linked to Valencia CF. Can Javi Gracia leave on a positive note though? No coach wants to leave with terrible results, their career can suffer so Javi Gracia has to work his magic, he needs to pull a rabbit our of a hat, if not I doubt any serious team would want to hire him for the foreseeable future!
Cillessen should return to goal, unless Gracia wants to continue with Jaume, who's improved his form over the past few matches, after having a shaky start replacing the injured Cillessen. So the goalkeeper position is up in the air, though I suspect Cillessen to get the nod over Jaume.
Thierry Correia has also recovered from his injury, though I'm not sure he is fit just yet to feature in this match, so he is doubtful, but if he doesn't play there is the option of playing Piccini or Wass there, though I think Piccini would be the better choice.
The biggest threat for Barca will be Goncalo Guedes who's been on fire for the past 10 matches and has singlehandedly contributed to Valencia CF getting points where they wouldn't have. So he is likely to be the player to watch out for against Barcelona, while Messi is going to be the threat for Valencia CF, as he's been historically, though if Valencia CF can shut him down, historically we've been able to get a decent result against them!
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Valencia Wins, 1 Barcelona Win, 3 Draws.
- The sides drew 2-2 at Camp Nou earlier this season.
- Barcelona haven’t won on any of their last 3 league trips to Mestalla.
- They were beaten 2-0 here in January of last year.
 Valencia | Stat name |  Barcelona |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | Games | 33 |
| 41 | Goals | 77 |
| 48 | Goals lost | 31 |
| 24% (8) | Wins | 67% (22) |
| 24% (12) | Draws | 67% (5) |
| 39% (13) | Defeats | 18% (6) |
| 1.24 | Goals per game | 2.33 |
| 1.45 | Goals conceded per game | 0.94 |
| 5 (15%) | Clean sheets | 12 (36%) |
| 9.63 | Corners per game | 9.42 |
| 4.56 | Corners for per game | 5.91 |
| 5.06 | Corners against per game | 3.52 |
| 48.03% | Ball possession | 66.21% |
| 10.63 | Shots avg | 15.33 |
| 3.66 | Shots on goal avg | 6.24 |
| 2.41 | Offsides avg | 2.45 |
| 262.75 | Passes avg | 609.82 |
| 76.09% | Completed passes | 89.49% |