Barcelona vs. Valencia: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream & TV Info
No one can yet understand why this particular kick-off time continues to cause Barca problems, and with a fixture at Espanyol next week at the same time, the Catalans need to get the monkey off their back pronto.
Real Madrid remain primed to take advantage of any slip-ups by Barca, but with Los Che only a point behind Atletico Madrid in third place, the hosts are going to get anything but an easy ride.
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Last season the Catalans completely lost their swagger and lost to Valencia by the odd goal in five on a Saturday afternoon. A vast improvement on that particular performance is needed.
Nuno Santo's side have enthralled the locale this season and fully deserve their place in the upper echelons of the table.
A superb defensive performance against Barca earlier in the season deserved more than losing to a Sergio Busquets 94th-minute winner, and you feel that Valencia come to town with that particular axe to grind.
No quarter will be asked or given in a game that will surely live up to all of the pre-match expectations.
Date: Saturday, April 18
Time: 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m ET
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
TV Info: Sky Sports 5 (UK only—one-hour highlights from 9 p.m. BST)/beIN Sports 1 (USA only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only)/beIN Sports Connect (USA only)
Form Lines
| Barcelona | Valencia |
| W 3-1 vs. Paris Saint-Germain | W 3-0 vs Levante |
| D 2-2 vs. Sevilla | D 1-1 vs Athletic Club |
| W 4-0 vs. Almeria | D 0-0 vs Villarreal |
| W 1-0 vs. Celta Vigo | W 4-0 vs Valencia |
| W 2-1 vs. Real Madrid | W 2-0 vs Deportivo La Coruna |
| W 1-0 vs. Manchester City | D 1-1 vs. Atletico Madrid |
Predicted Formations
Both managers virtually have a full complement to pick from, and whilst it allows them options, Luis Enrique would surely have preferred to have been able to rest one or two players ahead of the Champions League return against Paris Saint-Germain.
That courtesy is denied him because the Catalans absolutely need to be at full strength to have any designs on taking all three points here.
Javier Mascherano will partner Gerard Pique at the back in a bid to dissolve the threat from a mobile Paco Alcacer. Should Nuno throw on Alvaro Negredo at any point, then there's every chance we could see Jeremy Mathieu introduced.
Dani Alves returns after his midweek suspension to take the place of the poor Martin Montoya and Jordi Alba will play against his old side again.
The one change we could see from Barca is in the midfield, Enrique giving Andres Iniesta a few extra days to recover from his back injury. Xavi Hernandez slips neatly into position alongside Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets.
Rakitic's intelligent movement more centrally can draw Javi Fuego away from the areas he prefers to patrol, allowing Messi and Neymar to move more easily between the lines if Nuno goes with an expected 4-1-4-1 formation.
Diego Alves has the unenviable task of keeping goal against a front three who have scored 91 goals in all competitions to this point. The work of Shkodran Mustafi and Ruben Vezo in particular is key to Valencia staying competitive in this game.
Man of the match against Levante last week, Lucas Orban needs to be on his mettle against Messi, and to that end, Rodrigo's shuttling down the left side will be needed as cover.
In many respects, his and Sofiane Feghouli's shifts are crucial to limiting Barca's forward momentum.
Joao Cancelo should start the game at right-back again, and with Mustafi tied up by Luis Suarez, he has Neymar all to himself. Not an enviable task, given the Brazilian's current form.
Dani Parejo and Andre Gomes will seek to disrupt Xavi's manipulation of the game, feeding Alcacer centrally at every opportunity.
Player to Watch
Sofiane Feghouli
Feghouli showed at Camp Nou last season why he needs to be kept under wraps this time around.
A tricky player at the best of times, the Algerian is expert at drawing fouls from the opposition when in positions of relative danger, either in or near the penalty area.
Jordi Alba was sent off in the fixture against his old side for exactly that reason, and it's almost certain that Feghouli, who arrives at the game in great form, will target Barca's left-back once again.
Barca will need to curtail the rampaging runs to the byline because Feghouli's expert delivery from the wider areas will cause problems.
Key Battle
Luis Suarez has 11 goals in his last 11 games and showed against PSG in Barcelona's last game, he is lethal when given half a chance.
Even putting aside his goals for a moment, Suarez's movement has been world class, and his hard work in trying to dovetail with the natural aspects of Messi's and Neymar's own game is beginning to pay appropriate dividends.
In Shkodran Mustafi, Valencia have an ex-Evertonian cast aside by David Moyes but who has been a rock for the men from Mestalla.
An old-fashioned centre-back, Mustafi won't give the Uruguayan a moment's peace and Suarez will do well to escape the shackles.
The outcome of the game could well hinge on who comes out on top in this particular battle.
Odds
The following pre-match odds are available via our betting partner OddsShark:
Home Win: 1/5
Away Win: 12/1
Draw: 11/5
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