Barcelona vs. Valencia: Big Barca Win Will Start Late-Season Run

Barcelona will dominate Valencia and ride out that moment to the end of the campaign.

This is a Barca team that has struggled, and their campaign hit a new low their last time in La Liga action, as they lost 3-2 to Osasuna.  

Now, they surprisingly find themselves trailing Real Madrid by 10 points in the La Liga table. But this team is getting healthier, and that is bad news for Valencia and the rest of the La Liga campaign.

Returning Health

Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas all missed time last week. This has definitely taken a toll on Barca.

Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas should both be available to manager Pep Guardiola. Iniesta has proven to be especially vital to Barca, as they have a difficult time replacing his ability to force the ball forward with accuracy and precision. 

He was not on the pitch for the shocking loss against Osasuna, but he was back for their big win in their UEFA Champions League match at at Bayer Leverkusen. 

They still have a ways to go before they will be at full strength. Most notably, Xavi is missing from this lineup. 

Xavi remains sidelined for Barca, but with the return of the others, they will be able to weather that storm until his return. 

Prospects vs. Valencia and the Rest of the Campaign

Valencia has been playing fantastic soccer. They are in third place in La Liga and trail Barca by just eight points.

However, they don't have the firepower to roll into Camp Nou and pull out a victory against a refocused close to full strength Barca club.

Barca has just 16 La Liga games remaining, and they have a real chance of running the table. They will get half of those matches at home, none of those matches will come against Real and this is their last match against Valencia. 

Don't expect the defending champions to go quietly.