Barcelona vs Valencia: A Barca Blaugranes Roundtable Game Preview

Recently here at Barca Blaugranes, we have been suffering a writer shortage. Having to part company with Manuel Traquete has not helped, but we are continuing the Roundtable previews he started. That being said, there is currently only me and Bostjan, so it's not much of a Roundtable this time but no-one is stopping you, our readers from joining, and writing for the blog. You can either post on our fanpost section, or send a sample of your writing to

bblaugranes@googlemail.com

All you need is a passion for Barcelona and writing skills, so what's stopping you?!?

Anyway, here's how we see it going against Valencia on Wednesday.

Bostjan Cernesek:

Barcelona will put their record breaking away form on the line in one of the toughest games of the season. Valencia are a vary good team and they are tough beat when they play on the road but this game will be played at Mestalla stadium where Los Che boast a record of six wins, four draws and just one loss.

This is one of four very difficult away games left for Barcelona (yes I am still counting Sevilla). In the last five games played at Mestalla Barcelona have managed only one win and two draws. Injuries appear to have finally caught up with the Barcelona players and unless Xavi will be ready by the start of the game (he says he will) don't expect major changes in the lineup. Dani Alves will return from his suspension and will immediately return to his usual spot.

It is also going to be an emotional return to Valencia for David Villa, who played for Los Che for five season, where he established himself as one of the most productive goalscorers in the world.

Valencia are currently enjoying an 11 game unbeaten streak and are lying in third place on the league table where they are locked in a tight race with Villarreal. They need every point they can get, even more than Barcelona do right now, because there is a big difference between finishing the season in third or fourth place. Valencia are not a high scoring team and they have only two players with more than four goals in the season, just for comparison Barcelona have four that have scored seven or more. But they also don't give up many goals, despite playing with their third string goalkeeper for the better part of the season

This promises to be a very good game and I for one can't wait for Wednesday to see how it plays out.

Arron Duckling:

Despite the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will once again proclaim that the game at the Mestalla on Wednesday is the biggest of the season so far. Valencia are a hugely underrated team, and with talents such as Mata, Joaquin, Pablo Hernandez, Soldado in the attacking third, they cannot be underestimated.

Of course, the Blaugrana frontline is better, and in my latest piece, I told how I thought this trio is the best ever. Messi, a “home-coming” Villa and Pedro have tore apart countless opposition and no matter the pressure, have almost always delivered. So with all 3 expected to start in front of our strongest midfield trio (Xavi’s fitness allowing) there are goals in this game.

Much of the recent talk has been of a “Catalan Crisis” but a comfortable 3-0 victory away to Mallorca has eased such talk. It was supposed to be a weekend where Barca were expected to lose ground in the title race to Madrid, but instead the opposite happened. The gap once again stands at 7 points, and victory at the Mestalla will leave Real a mind-boggling 10 points behind their fiercest rivals until kickoff in their game against Malaga.

So, it’s fitting that in the biggest game of the season so far, we regain the services of marauding right-back Dani Alves and our midfield maestro/metronome Xavi. A win here could allow Pep to rotate players on Saturday against Zaragoza in anticipation of the return leg of the Champions League, without having to worry too much about the result.

So expect Guardiola’s men to be somewhere close to their imperious best, and a match that is fiercely contested from start to finish. Whatever the result, it promises to be one of the best games of the season, although a win would be better…

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