Valencia – Barcelona

Barcelona will try to redeem themselves for Champions League relegation

Barcelona play away against Valencia on Saturday 29 October. The Champions League is officially over for Xavi's side. The big tournament was a nightmare. The Catalans have managed to pick up only four points from five games. They suffered a shock defeat at home to Bayern on Wednesday. The team will now continue to perform only in the Europa League. The main goal for the rest of the season remains the Spanish championship. Barcelona are also three points behind Real Madrid in the La Liga, but the last two games have been encouraging. Xavi's men beat Athletic and Villarreal by a combined score of 7-0. The depth of the squad and the difference in class help. One of the few positive developments in the match against Barcelona was the absence of new injuries. The team avoided injuries. Only central defender Araujo cannot be counted on at the moment. Thus, the busy calendar should not be a global problem. Xavi will apply the rotation. Valencia are on schedule as a typical mid-table side. Gennaro Gattuso was expected to play very disciplined football in his new team. Expectations have so far diverged from reality when it comes to defence. Valencia concede unexpectedly a lot. In a span of ten games, there has only been one "dry" game. In their last five games, the Mousses have always allowed their opponents to score, although they have not played against the giants. The club has a slight slump with two draws and a defeat. The points were lost against Elche and Mallorca at home. With the Islanders, you can't write off the result to bad luck. The visitors were also stronger on XG. At the same time, Valencia are among the top five sides in the season in terms of the average number of chances taken. There are questions about the play of goalkeeper Mamardashvili. His mistakes prevented him from beating Elche. Before the match against Barcelona, Valencia have two key losses. The main defender Diakaby and forward Castillejo will not play. It will be a very difficult match for the hosts. The team is on the decline, and a motivated and bruised Barcelona are coming to visit. What the Catalans need is not just a win, but a rout. Now the team no longer needs to save their strength to play in several tournaments. One might be wary of Gattuso's defensive strategy, but there are too many factors against. The team concedes in almost every match, the goalkeeper is unstable and the main defender has dropped out. The hosts can only be helped by Barcelona's moral slump, but it shouldn't happen. Otherwise, the resignation of Xavi is in sight.