Barcelona host Valencia in their Spanish La Liga home opener at the club’s Estadi Johan Cruyff. The champions have enjoyed a solid start to the campaign as they face the visitors, who arrive in high spirits after their first win of the season.
Barcelona have made a solid enough start to their La Liga title defence, with two wins from their opening three matches. However, they stumbled slightly last time out, playing out a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano.
Although there are lots of reasons to be pleased with their start, Barcelona are now two points behind rivals Real Madrid. Manager Hansi Flick will be keen to make a swift return to winning ways, and Barcelona are unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 La Liga home matches, picking up nine victories on this run.
Valencia head into this clash in high spirits after claiming their first win of the season. They eased to a 3-0 home victory over Getafe, with Mouctar Diakhaby, Arnaut Danjuma and Hugo Duro getting the goals.
Los Che will be keen to build on that result, but have found things difficult on their recent travels. Carlos Corberan's team are winless in 10 of their last 12 La Liga away matches.
How the bookies view it: Smooth ride for Barcelona
The bookies have installed Barcelona as overwhelming favourites, with a home win priced at 2/9 by BoyleSports. An unlikely victory for Valencia is valued at 17/2 while a draw is set at odds of 5/1.
Head to head: History favours Barcelona
Barcelona have a 29-8 advantage, with 17 draws from 54 previous matches against Valencia. The Catalans won all three meetings last season and eased to a 5-0 victory in the most recent clash in February.
Players to watch: Yamal to star
Lamine Yamal has made a bright start to the season, with two goals and as many assists in three matches so far. The forward was on target in the last meeting with Valencia and could be the one to watch for Barcelona (Lamine Yamal anytime goalscorer – available at 6/5 with BoyleSports).
Hugo Duro has a solid scoring record in this fixture, having grabbed three of the last four goals for Valencia against Barcelona. The striker was also on target in the win over Getafe and could be worth keeping an eye on (Hugo Duro anytime goalscorer – offered at odds of 3/1).
Probable line-ups:
Barcelona are likely to be without Gavi, Frenkie De Jong and Alejandro Balde through injury. However, Robert Lewandowski is expected to return to the starting lineup after a spell on the sidelines and should feature in attack alongside Yamal and Raphinha.
For Valencia, Julen Agirrezabala should get the nod in goal, with Diakhaby, Dimitri Foulquier and Cesar Tarrega in defence. Javi Guerra and Pepelu are expected in midfield, while Duro and Arnaut Danjuma are in attack.
Barcelona: Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, Christensen, Martin, Pedri, Casado, Raphinha, Olmo, Yamal, Lewandowski
Valencia: Agirrezabala, Foulquier, Diakhaby, Tarrega, Vazquez, Guerra, Pepelu, Lopez, Rioja, Duro, Danjuma
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona have scored in both halves in their last five matches against Valencia (Barcelona to score in both halves – priced at 8/13 with BoyleSports). The Catalans have also won both halves in the last two meetings (Barcelona to win both halves – set at odds of 7/5).
There have been over 1.5 first-half goals in four of Barcelona’s last five matches in all competitions (First half over 1.5 goals – priced at 10/11).
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