Valencia and reigning Spanish league champions Barcelona clash in La Liga action at the Mestalla Stadium on Sunday. Despite being the away side, Barca are the favorites to win this encounter.
Valencia have struggled in La Liga at this early stage of the season, earning one point from their three matches and sitting in 17th place in the table, just above the relegation zone.
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Los Che kicked off their domestic campaign with a goalless draw at home against Celta Vigo, but that was as good as it was going to get for Carlos Corberán’s side, as they went on to lose at home to Real Betis (1-0) and away against newly-promoted Deportivo La Coruna (3-1).
Their false start will be a major concern for fans of the club, and with difficult matches against Barca and Sevilla on the horizon, things may get worse before they get any better for Valencia.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are dominating La Liga and sitting top of the table with nine points from their three games, tied with arch-rivals Real Madrid but ahead on goal difference.
The Blaugrana have already scored 12 goals and conceded twice in their three La Liga games, displaying their impressive attacking firepower and ability to hurt teams with their creativity and clinical finishing.
Hansi Flick’s side have beaten Elche away (5-0) before defeating Athletic Club (2-0) and Rayo Vallecano (5-2) at home.
A brace each from Spanish talent Lamine Yamal and Brazilian star Raphinha added to an own goal from Florian Lejeune for a five-star performance from Barca, with two strikes from Rayo Vallecano’s Sergio Camello lost in the flood of Blaugrana goals at the Camp Nou on Monday.
Valencia vs Barcelona head-to-head stats and key numbers
- Barcelona have been dominant in their head-to-head record with Valencia, winning 115 of their 232 matches, with 57 games ending in draws.
- Valencia have beaten Barca on 60 occasions, with the most recent being the last game of last season (3-1 at the Mestalla). However, it must be said that Barcelona had won the La Liga title by then, and there was little motivation for the champions in the dead rubber.
- Valencia have beaten Barcelona once in their last 13 encounters dating back to 2020, with two draws in that period.
Valencia vs Barcelona prediction
Barcelona are expected to dominate possession and pin Valencia’s defense back with high-intensity attacking and chance creation thanks to the creativity and individual technical abilities of players like Yamal and Pedri.
Valencia will need to do what they can with the possession they get, so they will try to use counterattacks and set-pieces to threaten Barca, while adopting a compact defensive block in the hope of minimizing Barcelona’s attacking opportunities.
Barcelona are in high-scoring mood of late, and we expect the Blaugrana to secure another comfortable victory.
Prediction: Valencia 0-3 Barcelona
Valencia vs Barcelona betting tips
Tip 1: Barcelona to win
Tip 2: Barcelona to score first
Tip 3: Over 2.5 goals
Edited by Peter Pedroncelli
