Barcelona vs Valencia, Copa del Rey: Team News, Match Preview
The two best teams in Spain clash in the Spanish Cup semi-final. This should be fun!
Barcelona vs Valencia
Competition/Round: Copa del Rey semi-final, 1st leg
Barcelona injuries: Ousmane Dembélé, Thomas Vermaelen, André Gomes (illness)
Valencia injuries: Jeison Murillo, Gabriel Paulista, Gonçalo Guedes
Date/Time: Thursday, February 1st, 2018, 21:30 CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 20:30 GMT (UK), 15:30 EST, 12:30PM PST (USA), 02:00 IST (India, next day)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), Kwesé Sports 1 (Nigeria), others
How to stream: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), FuboTV (7-day free trial, click here to sign up)
The craziness of January is finally over, but Barcelona still have a really tough schedule ahead of them. The Champions League is coming back in February and there are two giant Copa del Rey semi-final matches to play, and the first takes place on Tuesday night at Camp Nou when the Blaugrana welcome Valencia for what promises to be a REALLY fun night.
Despite losing 4-1 at home to Real Madrid over the weekend, Valencia are still the second best team in Spain behind Barça and the Bats gave the La Liga leaders a really tough time earlier this season. Their counter-attacking style is perfect to face a team like Barça, and their midfield is physical enough to trouble the Catalans’ possession game.
Hopefully Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho will show better chemistry this time and give Barça a good result at home. Valencia definitely have the firepower to get a crucial away goal, so the Barça defense will also need to be at its best. This game will be fun and also nervous, but also really fun. But also really nervous. But fun!
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-4-2): Cillessen; Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Vidal, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez
Valencia (4-4-2): Neto; Montoya, Vezo, Garay, Lato; Soler, Parejo, Kondogbia, Gayà ; Mina, Rodrigo
PREDICTION
These two teams are just too good for the game not to be super close: 2-1 Barça.
Source: barcablaugranes.com
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