Valencia vs Barcelona Predictions and Match Preview, 08 Feb 2018

The Match Is Over. Score: 0-2

Barcelona’s hopes of doing a domestic double will be put to test when they take on Valencia in the second leg of their semi-final. This Valencia vs Barcelona Copa del Rey semi-final 2nd leg will be played at the Estadio de Mestalla on Thursday, February 8, so check out our Valencia vs Barcelona predictions and betting tips.

Match status: 2017-18 Copa del Rey Semi-finals
Kick-off: Thursday 08 Feb 2018, 08:30pm GMT
Venue: Estadio de Mestalla (Valencia, Spain)

Valencia v Barcelona Team News

The first leg between Barcelona and Valencia was a stalemate until the sixty-seventh minute when Luis Suarez broke the deadlock from a Leo Messi pass to earn the Blaugrana a 1-0 first-leg lead over Valencia. The game hangs in the balance as Valencia could beat Barcelona at home to reach the finals.

Such result leaves the tie open, but it is hard to believe that the Bats can make an upset here even at the crowded Mestalla. The main reasoning behind this statement lies in Valencia’s poor run of five consecutive defeats in all competitions. One can hardly expect a miracle against the likes of Barcelona with such spell of form.

Valencia are flying in La Liga, currently sitting in 3rd place. They are one point ahead of the reigning Spanish Champions Real Madrid, which tells you everything you need to know about how the season has gone. Their most recent result was a 1-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid though, following on from defeats to Barca and Real respectively.

The Catalan giants have been much more consistent and better defensively under Ernesto Valverde, with their only defeat since August coming at Espanyol in the last round. They’ve won 11 of their last 14 games in all competitions and all of those failures to win can to some extent be explained by weakened team selections, while torrential rain meant conditions were simply horrendous in the Barcelona derby at the weekend.

Barcelona are very comfortable at the top of the La Liga table, with a 9 point lead over closest challengers Atletico Madrid. Even so, they will not be too pleased with the result on Sunday, as Barca were held to a draw against Espanyol.

Teams' Potential Starting Lineups:

Valencia (4-4-2): Domenech; Gaya, Garay, Paulista, Montoya; Lato, Kondogbia, Parejo, Soler; Mina, Moreno.

Barcelona (4-4-2): Cillessen; Alba, Umtiti, Pique, Roberto; Iniesta, Busquets, Paulinho, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez.

Injured or Suspended Players:

Valencia: Andreas Pereira is out for three weeks following a poor Sergi Roberto tackle last week. Jeison Murillo hasn’t featured for Los Che since November due to Osteitis Pubis. Goncalo Guedes picked up a hamstring injury and didn’t feature in the game against Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey semi-finals and the weekend match against Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona: Gerard Pique is a slight concern but should start, while Ousmane Dembele and Thomas Vermaelen are still out because of muscular problems that have kept them out of action for 15 matches between them.

Head-to-Head Record: Valencia v Barcelona

2017-18 Copa del Rey Semi-finals
Barcelona 1-0 Valencia

2017-18 Spanish La Liga
Valencia 1-1 Barcelona

2016-17 Spanish La Liga
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia

2016-17 Spanish La Liga
Valencia 2-3 Barcelona