Barcelona vs Valencia preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Barcelona welcome eight-placed Valencia to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Monday as they look to strengthen their grip on second place in the Laliga table. 

Over the week, the Blaugrana were spurred by the decision of head coach, Xavi Hernandez, to remain at the club for next season and possibly beyond. Xavi had already guided Barca to a second-place finish in Laliga when he replaced Ronald Koeman in November 2021, before winning the League title the next season.

While the 44-year-old has guided Barcelona to a Champions League semifinal for the first time since 2015, their domestic campaign is not going as planned as they currently sit 14 points adrift of League leaders, Real Madrid.

Hopes of a late title push were dashed in their last Laliga outing where they fell to a 3:2 defeat to Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Xavi’s side enjoyed the majority of possession and took an early lead in the sixth minute of the match when Andreas Christensen headed home Raphinha’s corner.

Madrid were awarded a penalty after Pau Cubarsi brought down Lucas Vázquez in the 18-yard box and Vinicius Junior made no mistake from the spot to restore parity in the 28th minute of the match.

Barca continued to dominate proceedings after the interval and Lamine Yamal’s cross was parried away by Andriy Lunin but only as far as Fermin Lopez who slammed home the rebound to give Barca the lead for the second time in the game.

However, Barca’s celebrations were short-lived as Vazquez netted the equaliser before Jude Bellingham made it back-to-back winning goals in this season’s El Classico with a well-timed strike that found the roof of the net.

Barca will now look to reduce the point gap to 11 points when they face UEFA Conference League hopefuls, Valencia on Monday where they will aim for their fourth consecutive home victory at the Olímpic Lluís Companys.

With a strong home form of 12 wins, one draw and three losses in 16 matches at home this season, the 27-time Spanish champions will now turn their focus to the must-win clash against Valencia whom they hold an impressive streak of a seven-match unbeaten run.

After a disappointing 2022-23 season that saw Valencia finish 16th, their worst League position since being relegated to the Segunda division in 1986, Los Che have performed remarkably well this season, amassing 47 points as they continue to tilt towards a UEFA Conference League playoff spot.

In their last match in the Laliga, Los Ches were left to rue their missed chances as Real Betis ran out 2-1 winners at the Mestalla Stadium.

Two goals from Ayoze Perez either side of a Pepelu penalty condemned Rúben Baraja’s side to their 11th loss of the season as they currently occupy eighth place in the Laliga table but in touching distance with Real Sociedad who are just four points above Valencia.

As the season nears its completion, Los Ches’ aspirations for European competition are set to face its sternest test against a Barcelona side that have won four of the last five matches in this fixture.

However, Baraja’s side have won their last two away matches, recording 1:0 victories against Granada and Osasuna and are gearing up for their first three consecutive away wins in Laliga since 2017, when they travel to Barcelona on Monday.

Barcelona Vs Valencia match details

• Date: Monday, 29 April, 2024 at
• Location: Barcelona, Spain
• Stadium: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
• Kick-off time: 03:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM UTC, 8:00 PM BST
• Referee: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea
• Tickets: Supporters can buy Barcelona tickets through the official club channels or via reputable online resellers.

Match stats and head-to-head

• Barcelona have won 31 of the last 60 matches played between these two sides while Valencia have only recorded 12 victories.

• The Blaugrana have scored in eight consecutive matches across all competitions, amassing 15 goals in that run.

• The 27-time Laliga champions are unbeaten in their last seven games against Valencia with their last loss coming by a 2-0 scoreline in January 2020.

• Valencia are unbeaten in three of their last four matches in Laliga.

• Barcelona have won four of their last five matches at home.

• Valencia have not recorded an away victory against Barcelona since 2016.

• Valencia’s 282 shots is the lowest number of shots taken by any team in the Laliga after 32 matches so far this season. However, Baraja’s side have recorded the third-least conceded goals in Laliga, conceding only 34 goals in 32 matches. Only Madrid(22) and Athletic Bilbao(30) have a better defensive record than Valencia this season.

• The Blaugrana’s 64 goals are the most by any team in the Laliga this season after Madrid(71) and Girona(67).

• Xavi’s side are on a three-match winning streak at home, recording wins against Mallorca, Getafe and Las Palmas. Barcelona have also kept three consecutive clean sheets in their last three matches at home.

Team news 

For Barca, the loss to Madrid at the Bernabeu remain painful, but losing a pivotal player like Frenkie de Jong to injury is even more painful.

The Netherland International suffered a severe sprain to his ankle and the 26-year-old has been sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Gavi is continuing his recuperation from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and it remains uncertain if the young midfielder will still play a part in Barca’s campaign this season.

Alejandro Balde remains another long-term absentee as the left back continues to nurse a hamstring injury.

There were growing fears over Pedri’s availability for this game after the youngster did not take part in full training over the week. However, recent reports indicate that the 21-year-old was only being carefully managed to avoid overloading.

For Valencia, Baraja’s biggest concern will be in the defensive department as first-choice centre-back, Mouctar Diakhaby continues to undergo treatment with a severe knee injury while club-captain and left-back, Jose Gaya is ruled out of this fixture with a thigh injury.

Roman Yaremchuk did not take part in team training as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury. The centre-forward has thus been ruled out from this clash.

It remains unclear if Fran Perez’ halftime withdrawal in the loss to Betis was precautionary or due to injury. In the absence of the Spanish forward, Sergi Canos should be fit to take his place in the starting lineup.

Predicted starting lineup

Barcelona predicted starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Gundogan, Christensen, Pedri, Tamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha.

Valencia predicted starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Mosquera, Ozkacar, Vazquez; Canos, Guerra, Pepelu, Lopez; Almeida, Duro.

Prediction

Valencia played a hard-fought 1:1 draw against Barcelona in the first leg at the Mestalla.

They are currently a difficult team to beat and despite not scoring a lot of goals, they don’t concede a lot of goals either.

However, Barcelona have been the dominant side in this fixture and will hope to bounce back from their loss to Madrid last weekend.

They will aim for a win to avoid being usurped by third-placed Girona who are adrift of Barcelona with just two points.

It will be a tough game but Barcelona will exert control in the game and their attackers will be spurred to take their chances on Monday.

We’re predicting a 3:1 win for Barcelona.