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

Barcelona will look to extend their stint at the top of the table with a fourth consecutive win when they face newly promoted side, Real Valladolid on 31 August at the Olímpic Lluís Companys.

With three wins, no defeats, top of the table, Barcelona are off to the best possible start in Laliga under Hansi Flick who has wasted no time to stamp his authority in the Spanish division.

With a meagre €57m (£48m) spent in the transfer window with the only two noticeable reinforcements being Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, Flick has entrusted some of La Masia’s finest stars by incorporating them into the first team and they have all performed admirably well.

The likes of Marc Bernal, Gerard Martín, Marc Casadó, and Pau Cubarsi have all stepped up to fill various voids and gaps for the cash-strapped Barcelona team.

The Blaugrana kicked off their 2024-25 Laliga campaign with an opening day fixture against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium where a Robert Lewandowski double secured a comeback victory over Los Ches.

There was much talk over the inability to secure the long-term target, Nico Williams when Barcelona faced Athletic Bilbao in their second game but it was Williams’s friend and Spanish teammate, Lamine Yamal who stole the spotlight by scoring a sensational opening goal in the fixture as the Catalan giants ultimately secured a 2-1 win.

On Tuesday night, Barcelona ended a run of five matches against a resolute Rayo Vallecano side that has been torn in its flesh in recent seasons.

Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas hasn’t been a favourable ground for Barcelona in recent years, with the Catalan giants unable to secure a league victory at the lively stadium on Madrid’s outskirts since November 2018.

This was evident in their most recent clash where Rayo controlled the first half, taking the lead in the ninth minute through a swift counter-attack initiated by Jorge de Frutos, who assisted Lopez in scoring.

However, Barça showed more energy after the break, with manager Hansi Flick introducing the versatile Dani Olmo from the bench.

Barça equalized in the 60th minute through a swift counter-attack initiated by Pedri, who passed to Raphinha on the left wing, then sprinted forward to receive the return pass before calmly slotting his shot into the bottom right corner.

A late strike from recent acquisition Olmo secured a tense 2-1 comeback win for Barcelona, maintaining the La Liga leaders’ flawless start to the season with their third consecutive victory.

Barca’s next opponent, Valladolid will be looking to make a mark in the current Laliga campaign to secure top-flight safety.

The Pucelanos secured a return to top-flight football by finishing second in last season’s Segunda Division.

They had an active transfer window, bringing in 10 new players, including two from Real Madrid—Juanmi Latasa on a permanent deal and Mario Martin on a season-long loan. While Monchu has been the most notable departure, the team has retained several key players from the previous season and added quality reinforcements, which bodes well for Paulo Pezzolano’s side.

They made a promising start to the campaign after beating fellow Laliga returnees, Espanyol 1-0 at the Estadio José Zorrilla.

Their second match didn’t go as planned as they faced defending Laliga champions, Real Madrid who were looking to secure their first win in the League following an opening day draw against Mallorca.

Despite Madrid controlling possession, they found it challenging to penetrate Valladolid’s ultra-defensive strategy during a sluggish first half in Madrid’s sweltering summer heat.

Madrid came out guns blazing in the second half as strikes from Federico Valverde, Brahim Díaz and Endrick gave Carlo Ancelotti’s side an emphatic 3-0 win.

Avoiding a second consecutive defeat would be high on Pezzolano’s agenda and the Uruguay manager will look to halt Barcelona’s winning run when they square off next Saturday.

Barcelona Vs Real Valladolid match details

• Date: Saturday, 31 August 2024
• Location: Barcelona, Spain
• Venue: Olímpic Lluís Companys
• Kick-off time: 04:00 PM BST, 11:00 AM ET, 8:00 AM PT, 03:00 PM UTC
• Tickets: Fans can buy Barcelona vs Real Valladolid tickets through the club websites or via Seatsnet.

Match stats and head-to-head

•Laliga are the only side in Laliga with a 100% win record after winning all their three matches so far in Laliga.

•Barcelona have come from behind to win two of their matches in Laliga, the most comeback wins so far.

•Raúl Moro has scored Valladolid’s only goal in Laliga so far.

•These two sides have met 28 times so far with Barcelona holding the superior advantage with 21 wins against Valladolid’s three while four matches have ended in a draw.

•The Blaugrana are yet to keep a clean sheet in Laliga, conceding a goal in all three matches while The Pucelanos recorded a clean sheet in their opening day victory over Espanyol where they won 1-0.

•Olmo became the first player to score in his La Liga debut for Barcelona and do so in an away match since Sandro Ramírez achieved the feat against Villarreal in August 2014.

•Since he arrived in 2022, Raphinha has recorded 17 assists in 67 matches for Barcelona. Only Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann has recorded more assists with 24 in that time.

Team news

Midfielder Marc Bernal, who was making his third consecutive start and delivering another strong performance, seemed set to complete the match when he sustained what appeared to be a severe knee injury following a collision with Rayo’s Isi Palazón in the 99th minute.

Speculations suggests the 17-year-old may have suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in what is a big blow to Barcelona and the player himself who looked promising in his performances.

The likes of Andreas Christensen, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong all missed out in the match against Vallecano and the Valladolid match might come too soon, particularly for De Jong.

Garcia, who returned to Barcelona over the summer after a loan spell at Girona, was sidelined against Rayo Vallecano due to a foot issue, and he is again set to miss out this weekend

Garcia was also absent in Tuesday night’s clash against Vallecano following a foot injury. The extent of his recovery will determine his participation in the match.

Gavi continues to remain Hansi Flick’s longest absentee as he continues to recover from a lengthy injury.

On the other hand, Valladolid have not reported any new injury issues but remain without midfielder Anuar.

Selim Amallah, Amath Ndiaye, and Mamadou Sylla might rejoin the starting lineup after being benched over the weekend. Raul Moro could also return to the starting eleven, with a chance to score in consecutive home La Liga games.

Predicted starting lineup

Barcelona predicted starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Casadó, Pedri; Yamal, F Lopez, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Real Valladolid predicted starting lineup:

Hein; Perez, Comert, Boyomo, Rosa; Perez, Juric, Amallah; Ndiaye, Moro, Sylla.

Prediction

Barcelona’s 21 wins in 28 matches have shown their dominance in this fixture and it won’t be any different when these two sides meet.

However, Valladolid have shown how combative they can be defensively which was visible in the first half against defending champions, Madrid.

If they can hold on to their closely knitted defensive setup, they’ll do enough to restrict Barcelona’s attack but replicating their efforts in attack will be another problem.

Their talisman, Moro is expected to be tightly marked and they don’t possess much quality to support their frontline, unlike Barcelona who have a plethora of attacking threats.

Barcelona are expected to come out on top but the scoreline will be kept low.

We’re predicting a 2-0 win for Barcelona.