A strong victory over Athletic Bilbao at the weekend has left Valencia extremely well placed to claim a spot in the Champions League next season, but no sooner have they opened up a gap to third placed Villarreal, they could see it close as they meet champions Barcelona on Wednesday evening.
Unai Emery’s side have been the masters of the narrow victory this season and managed to edge past los Leones thanks to a couple of late strikes, another hallmark of their recent performances. With 19 minutes remaining, Juan Mata levelled Fernando Llorente’s first half strike, and as the game approached its twilight period, Jonas scored a timely first goal for the club.
“With perseverance we beat a big rival at a very difficult venue, and for that we must be doubly pleased,” the coach explained after the weekend’s fixture.
“San Mames demands that players fight duels, and I think that we were present.”
Looking ahead to Wednesday’s clash, the coach explained that he expects his side to approach the game at the Mestalla “with enthusiasm and a need to defend third place”.
Boasting a four point gap to a Villarreal side who are seeing their good form slide away, even a defeat at home to the league leaders would be no catastrophe, but the battling east coast outfit will be hoping to at least secure a draw.
Strong Start To Important Week
Talk of crisis at the Camp Nou has been averted for the time being. After a 1-1 draw with Sporting and a surprise 2-1 defeat in the Champions League against Arsenal, there were concerns that Barcelona’s campaign was about to come apart at the seams
But Pep Guardiola’s side have since responded with two impressive wins. A home fixture against Athletic Bilbao was considered a test, and Barca passed it narrowly, picking up a 2-1 success. Last weekend they then travelled to face a well-organised Mallorca side who had picked up a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou earlier in the season, and showing some fine form, the Blaugrana earned a routine 3-0 success that was made all the more pivotal by Real Madrid’s failure to overcome Deportivo La Coruna later in the evening.
Describing the fixture as the first of three “important” games, Guardiola was evidently happy with his side’s mentality and, ultimately, their performance, remarking,“We found it harder than ever to get going tonight and that has to serve as a lesson for other games. Obviously the goal helped us. It was another story altogether after the break though, we played with more intensity and suffered less.”
Accepting of the fact that Barca’s injury problems are simply something “that happens during the season”, Guardiola has confidence in his fringe players to step in and perform well, with the role of Seydou Keita at the weekend highlighting the good performances that can come from the Blaugrana bench.
Should Barca start Wednesday’s match as sluggishly as they played the early part of Saturday’s, they could find the going really tough, as Guardiola will no doubt warn his players.
Valencia
Bruno is banned, which could prompt Ricardo Costa to go into the right-back berth as an emergency measure. Aritz Aduriz, David Albelda and Nacho Gonzalez continue to work their way back from injuries.
Barcelona
Reports suggest that Xavi could be back in action for the Blaugrana, while Dani Alves will certainly be welcomed back after a one-match ban. Jeffren Suarez is back training with the main squad but Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes are set to miss out.
Prediction
Though the Mestalla is a difficult venue to go and win in, Barcelona have proven time and again that they’re capable of rising to the challenge at just the right moment. After last weekend’s impressive success, the Blaugrana have to be favoured, though Valencia are more than capable of making life difficult for their guests.
Editor's Prediction
Valencia1Barcelona 
2
2
