Barcelona must win against Valencia if they are to remain in touch with Real Madrid, who defeated Real Valladolid on Saturday night. The Catalans are currently 10 points adrift in the La Liga title race, so any more slip-ups could see their hopes come to an end this early in the season.
Barcelona come into this match with only one win in their last eight La Liga matches, and that horrible run must come to an end as soon as possible. Hansi Flick is aiming for this to be the case, although it appears that he is not planning to play his strongest squad at the Estadi Olimpic, which he did hint during his press conference.
As reported by Sport, Flick is expected to rest several key players for the match against Valencia. Pau Cubarsi, Marc Casado, Gavi and Robert Lewandowski are to be left on the bench from the side that won at Benfica in midweek, with Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong, Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres set to come into the team.
-This would be a risk, especially given that Valencia come into this meeting on the back of three wins in their last five – the latest of which was an impressive home victory against Real Sociedad. Carlos Corberan’s side will arrive in Catalonia with confidence, although the head coach will be without the services of injured on-loan Aston Villa midfielder Enzo Barrenechea. Fortunately, his replacement will be Pepelu, who is just as good – if not better.
This will be a very tough match for Barcelona, who have lost their last three La Liga matches. That streak must also end, as if it does not, their title hopes would surely be over. There is bound to be some nervousness from Flick’s side ahead of this fixture, and Valencia will hope that they can take advantage.
