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

Barcelona will travel to Estadio Mestalla to face Valencia as they hope to reinstate themselves in contention for the La Liga title. 

Heading into the holiday season, Barcelona find themselves in the fourth spot in LaLiga, sharing points with Atletico Madrid in third place and trailing only slightly on goal difference.

Barcelona have been in an impressive run of form on the domestic front. During this period, they secured victories in three out of four matches, with a lone draw against Rayo Vallecano. However, their momentum faced a setback as they suffered a defeat to Girona over the weekend, narrowing the gap between them and the fifth and sixth positions to just five points.

In the clash against Girona, Artem Dovbyk and Miguel Gutierrez found the net in the first half, flanking Robert Lewandowski’s equalizer. Girona continued their impressive showing in the second half, adding two more goals through Valery Fernandez and Cristhian Stuani, with Ilkay Gundogan managing to score another for Barcelona. This loss comes after Barcelona’s sole defeat this season to Real Madrid at the end of October, placing them in the fourth position with 34 points, level with Atletico, who have a game in hand.

Valencia currently sit at 11th place in Laliga’s lower half of the table, realizing the urgency to break free from their recent struggles if they aim to make an impact this season.

While they are not at risk of relegation, Valencia are closer to the bottom three than the top four. Enduring a challenging campaign, they are now on a winless streak of four matches.

With only five victories this season, their recent form includes three defeats in the last four games, with the solitary exception being a goalless draw against Celta Vigo. The clash against Getafe heightened tensions, marked by the dismissals of Gabriel Paulista and Javi Guerra, resulting in Valencia succumbing to a 1-0 defeat.

Valencia vs Barcelona match details

Date: 16 December 2023

Kick-off time: 20:00 UTC

Location: Valencia, Spain

Venue: Estadio Mestalla

Tickets: Supporters can buy Valencia vs FC Barcelona tickets via official club channels or through trusted reseller sites.

Head-to-head stats 

• Barcelona secured victories in their past five encounters against Valencia.
• Barcelona have conceded goals in five of their last seven away matches in Laliga this season
• Valencia have found the net in five of their seven home league games this season.
• In the current La Liga season, Robert Lewandowski has showcased direct involvement in 11 goals, scoring eight and providing three assists.
• Valencia’s key performer this season is Hugo Duro, who has scored seven goals in La Liga.
• Valencia are among the teams with the lowest shot averages per game in La Liga this season, only surpassed by Cadiz.
• In terms of goals scored, Valencia hold the 13th position in La Liga, recording 17 goals across 16 matches.
• Barcelona maintain an average of 1.9 goals per match, positioning them fifth in LaLiga.
• Barcelona occupy second place in La Liga for total shots taken, accumulating 241 over 16 games.
• Valencia rank 10th in shots faced in La Liga, with 70 attempts against them over 16 matches.
• Valencia have an average of 9.1 shots per game, placing them 18th in LaLiga.
• Barcelona’s recent dominance over Valencia include five consecutive victories since their 2-2 draw in the 2020/21 season.
• Last season witnessed 1-0 outcomes in both encounters, marking Barcelona’s consecutive clean sheets against Valencia, a feat not achieved since the semi-finals of the 2017/18 Copa del Rey.

Team News

Just like most clubs in Europe this season, Barcelona have endured a plethora of injury concerns due to fixture congestions. Although Pedri and Frenkie de Jong have returned from long-term injuries, their absence notably played a role in Barcelona’s dwindling League position as Xavi had to make use of the inconsistent Oriel Romeu who gave away a goal in the game against Antwerp.

Currently, Xavi will have to do without last season’s Zamora Trophy holder, André Ter Stegen who underwent back surgery and is ruled out for two to three months.

Gavi is another notable absentee having suffered an Anterior cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out for up to six months.

Marcos Alonso is also ruled out and is expected to return later this month while Inigo Martinez remains unavailable until next year.

Frenkie de Jong missed the trip to Belgium for Barcelona’s clash with Royal Antwerp due to illness and it remains to be seen if the Dutchman will recover to feature against Valencia.

In the defeat against Girona, Robert Lewandowski found the back of the net, marking his third goal in four games, following a notable brace against Alaves in November. While experiencing a challenging period, he remains a significant contributor in La Liga, having directly contributed to 11 goals this season—scoring eight times and providing three assists. The 35-year-old is expected to lead the attack for Barcelona when they face Valencia this weekend.

For Valencia, Andre Almeida is a notable absentee after suffering a back problem. Although the Portuguese is back in training, he will unlikely feature against Barcelona.

Hugo Duro shook off an injury problem to complete the duration of the game against Getafe last weekend.

Rubén Baraja will be without Gabriel Paulista and Javi Guerra after they were red-carded in the 1:0 defeat to Getafe.

Jose Gaya is sidelined with a muscular problem and Baraja could call on Yarek Hernandis to start at left-back after his impressive cameo against Getafe.

Following Paulista’s red card, Mouctar Diakhaby could feature at centre-back to replace the Brazilian, while the duo of Pablo Gozálbez or Selim Amallah could replace Guerra in the starting lineup following his suspension.

After featuring against Getafe last weekend, Fran Perez, and Thierry Correia will likely retain their place in the lineup after missing out in the Copa Del Rey victory over Arosa.

Valencia’s top scorer, Duro is set to lead the line in attack in a bid to extend his seven-goal haul in Laliga this season.

Predicted line-ups

Valencia predicted line-up: Mamardashvili; Correia, Mosquera, Diakhaby, Gasiorowski; Foulquier, Pepelu, Gozálbez, Perez; D Lopez, Duro

Barcelona predicted line-up: Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Cancelo; De Jong, Gundogan, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix.

Prediction

Sitting at 19 points, Valencia will aim to improve their League standing and possibly move into the top ten, but that will depend on results from Getafe and Rayo Vallecano.

Meanwhile, Blaugrana are in dire need of victory having lost two consecutive matches against Girona and Royal Antwerp.

Despite trailing League leaders, Girona by seven points, Barcelona’s Laliga title hope is not completely dashed out. Xavi’s men will only need to avoid defeat for the longest possible matches in Laliga and hope the teams above them drop points.

Barcelona have a remarkable record against Valencia, winning their last five matches against Los Che, and will aim to increase their streak against a Valencia side that has scored in five of their last seven home matches.

With Barcelona’s defence conceding a plethora of goals, especially in their last two matches, it is unlikely the Blaugrana will keep a clean sheet at the Estadio Mestalla as goals from both teams are certain.

Securing victory isn’t far off Barcelona’s reach, they only need to work on their defence to avoid conceding goals that might cost them.