Barcelona vs Valencia: Barca Will Keep Stranglehold on 2nd Place with Easy Win

Barcelona may not have much a chance of catching Real Madrid in La Liga standings, but don't expect them to let Valencia sniff second place, either.

Heading into their match with Valencia, Barca sits 13 points below Real Madrid in the standings. But more pressing is the fact that with a loss on Sunday afternoon, Barca would only hold a tenuous five-point lead over Valencia.

Barca has motivation even beyond that. They lost an inexcusable La Liga match last weekend, falling to Osasuna 3-2, 

They are also nearly impossible to beat at home, compiling a 10-0-1 record at Camp Nou this season, including a 2-0 victory over Valencia at home on February 8th. They've only allowed three goals at Camp Nou all year—which is just absurd—and are plus-45 in goal differential there.

And the team is returning to health. Neither Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez or Cesc Fabregas played against Osasuna, though all have returned to the lineup.

So no, barring a perfect finish to La Liga's season and a meltdown of epic proportions by Real Madrid, Barca won't win the league title this year.

But with Valencia coming into their stadium and looking to inch closer to second place, expect Barca to come out guns blazing and earn an easy win.

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