Preview: Valencia vs Barcelona

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

The Blaugranes will look to maintain top spot at Mestalla on Saturday

Barcelona (1st, 43 pts) vs Valencia 7th, 31 pts)*

*Points and positions at the time of writing

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Competition/Round: 2019-20 La Liga, Matchday 21

Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Luis Suarez (out), Ousmane Dembélé (out), Neto (out)

Valencia Outs & Doubts: Cristiano Piccini (out), Rodrigo Moreno (doubt), Manu Vallejo (doubt), Daniel Parejo (suspended)

Date/Time: Saturday, January 25th, 2020, 4pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 3pm GMT (UK), 10am EST, 7am PST (USA), 8:30pm IST (India)

Venue: Estadio de Mestalla, Valencia

Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano

TV Info/How to stream: beIN Sports Connect (USA & Canada), Canal+ (Nigeria), Movistar+ (Spain), others

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Fresh off a 2-1 win over UD Ibiza in their midweek Copa del Rey clash, the Blaugranes will be looking to extend Quique Setien’s 100% record since taking over as Barca coach. Antoine Griezmann delivered a standout performance, grabbing a brace and proving himself to be a suitable replacement for Luis Suarez while he is unavailable through injury.

Valencia, on the other hand, will still be reeling from their humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of Mallorca. While their 1-0 victory over UD Logrones guaranteed a safe passage to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey, manager Albert Celades will no doubt feel concerned about his side’s failure to overcome the team placed 17th in La Liga.

While Valencia have the home ground advantage, Barca will aim to take all three points from the side they hammered 5-2 earlier on this season.

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POSSIBLE LINEUPS

Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Vidal, Busquets, Arthur; Messi, Griezmann, Fati

Valencia (4-4-2): Domenech; Wass, Garay, Gabriel, Gaya; Cheryshev, Kondogbia, Coquelin, Soler; Rodrigo, Gameiro

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PREDICTION

While Valencia should be back to their usual selves, the Blaugranes can be expected to pose a threat to Los Che now that Setien has revitalized the squad. Nevertheless, the Mestalla has proven to be a challenging hunting ground for the Blaugranes in recent times. Expect an action-packed, high-scoring game: 2-2.

Source: barcablaugranes.com