How will Barcelona line up against Valencia?
After beating Real Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, Barcelona turn their attention back to LaLiga. The Catalan side look to bounce back from their shock defeat against Almeria the week before as they host Valencia.
A Valencia side who currently sit 19th in LaLiga, desperate for wins to get out of the relegation zone. Los Che are coming off a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad under new manager Ruben Baraja.
“They defend very well under Baraja,” Xavi Hernandez said. “They are more aggressive, intense and quick in transitions. They really need the points because they have a lot of stake in the league, so it will be really difficult.”
Barcelona still won’t be able to count on any of their injured players and will also be without Gavi and Xavi who are both serving a suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
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However, the club will be able to count on Andreas Christensen who was on the bench but did not feature midweek against Real Madrid after suffering an ankle injury.
Without Robert Lewandowski and considering how toothless Barça against Almeria and Real Madrid, Xavi may decide to go back to the traditional 4-3-3.
Ferran Torres showed some moments of brilliance in the cup semifinal when he was switched to the right flank. Despite blocking what could have been a second goal, Ansu Fati’s hold up play in that sequence started that move and his movement dragged the Madrid defenders along with him, allowing Franck Kessié to be wide open.
Again, with no Gavi or Pedri, it might make more sense to use an extra attacker to try to get an early goal and play with Valencia’s desperation to get a win.
Both Estanis Pedrola and Angel Alarcon made the squad list and could see some playing time. The same could be said for Pablo Torre who could start if one of the usual starters in midfield are given a break.
Next. Barcelona draw first blood in Copa del Rey semifinal against Real Madrid. dark
For Barcelona supporters, they hope the Catalans learned their lesson from last week and don’t take the opponent for granted. They need to come out with some intensity and pick up the three points. Should they do so, they’ll put the pressure back on Real Madrid as Barcelona would be 10 points clear of Los Blancos before they take on Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin.
Predicted starting line-up:
Ter Stegen
Koundé – Araújo – Christensen – Alba
Kessié – Busquets – Torre
Raphinha – Ferran Torres – Fati