Prediction: Valencia vs Barcelona

1st February 2012

Barcelona did well to win their quarter-final tie against arch rivals Real Madrid, but after their La Liga title hopes went out in smoke, the Catalans are likely to give their best to qualify for Copa del Rey final. Valencia are far from the desired form at the moment, but convincing victories over local rivals Levante could give them just the boost they need to kick-start their season.

Third-place finish may not be such a feat in some other championships, but in a league with Barcelona and Real Madrid, winning the third place is similar to winning the La Liga title. Valencia proved their worth by finishing the last two league campaigns just behind the El Clasico rivals, and they look set to make it three in a row. Los Che are still far away from the required quality needed to successfully compete with the Spanish giants, but considering the club’s policy of selling key players season after season, I am pretty sure they are completely satisfied with team’s showings over the last few years. Unai Emery’s side suffered a big dip in form in La Liga, having failed to win any of their last four games, and the fact they only faced bottom-table sides in the process proves that los Che are clearly not on top of their game at the moment. Unai Emery should have Adil Rami, Pablo Hernandez and Miguel back to the side, but Mehmet Topal is unavailable.

Barcelona go into the game on the back of disappointing draw with Villarreal, which virtually put an end to their La Liga title hopes. The Catalans are now no less than seven points adrift of Real and even if they are unlikely to give up the fight just yet, Pep Guardiola is aware that his side would be better off chasing other trophies. That is exactly why the Valencia game is extremely important for the visitors, as they need to kick-start their season and edge closer to winning their first major trophy this season. The gaffer has been fully focused on the game at Mestalla and he even introduced additional tactical sessions in order to prepare his team for the all-important clash with Valencia, which makes me feel confident about Barcelona’s chances in this match. Alexis Sanchez is expected to feature after recovering from injury and that will be a major boost for the Catalans as the Chilean has been in scintillating for of late, but David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Ibrahim Afellay remain sidelined.

Conclusion

If Valencia were on top of their game, I would think twice before backing Barcelona, but since that is clearly not the case, away win looks a very good bet to me. The Catalans are very motivated to make amends for the goalless draw at El Madrigal and they should be able to record at least a narrow win at Mestalla.

Verdict: Away win Barcelona (2)

Best Odds: 2/3

Bookmaker: bet365