Barcelona vs Valencia Prediction: No clean sheet for the hosts

The Sunday night clash in La Liga sees Barcelona welcome Valencia to the Catalan capital for a game that kicks-off at 20:00 and will be broadcast live on Premier Sports 2.

Our Spanish-based football expert Mark Sochon previews the action and picks out his two Best Bets for the game as he gives us his Barcelona vs Valencia Predictions in his full match preview for us at Betfred Insights...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Barcelona are at home to relegation-threatened Valencia this Sunday in La Liga. On paper, it's a game that should present little trouble for Hansi Flick's side, but their current league form suggests they cannot afford to take any opponent lightly. 

It has already been a season of two very different halves, as far as Barça are concerned in La Liga. Their 2-1 victory at Mestalla in the reverse fixture against Valencia on the opening weekend, was the start of a run of 11 wins from 12 league matches to start the campaign. 

They had a significant lead on both Madrid clubs in early November, but all that good work has been completely undone by a disastrous run of just one win from eight outings in La Liga since then. 

Barça are bidding to avoid a fourth straight home league defeat this weekend, following losses against Las Palmas, Leganés and Atlético Madrid. Having dropped points again in a 1-1 draw at Getafe last weekend, we are already at the point where the Catalans cannot afford any more major slip-ups, if they want to stay in serious title contention. 

Their overall form since the turn of the year has been good. The winter break, although only a short one, came at a good time for Barcelona and their key players, many of whom barely got a rest in the first half of the campaign. 

They've won all five cup games this month, including a brilliant performance in the Supercopa final against Real Madrid. They were less convincing in Lisbon on Tuesday in a wild game that saw Wojciech Szczęsny and Ronald Araújo make costly errors, as Benfica took a 4-2 lead. Barça still somehow managed to find a way back though, scoring three goals in the final 15 minutes to win 5-4. 

With a top eight finish in that competition now guaranteed, the Catalan giants now have a window where they can really focus on trying to put another winning streak together in La Liga, before their European journey continues in March. 

They've won seven of their last eight games against Valencia in all competitions. With Los Che currently just one place off the bottom of the table, this should not be a particularly problematic fixture for the home team, but the visitors will take confidence from their first league win under new boss Carlos Corberán last weekend. 

That came at home against Real Sociedad, with striker Hugo Duro scoring the only goal in a tight game. However, with fellow strugglers Espanyol, Alavés and Leganés also winners on matchday 20, they still ended the weekend four points from safety. 

Valencia have only ever been relegated on one occasion. That was back in 1986 and they bounced back immediately by winning the following season's Segunda División. 

They have flirted with danger in recent years though, with their deeply unpopular owner Peter Lim seen by Valencia fans as somebody who is leading a club that made back-to-back Champions League finals at the start of the century, into the abyss. 

The new year brought new direction in the dugout, and there have been slight improvements under Corberán, with three wins and only one defeat in his five competitive matches to date. However, two of those victories did come in the Copa del Rey against lower league sides, and this still feels like a team with very clear limitations.  

They've made two loan signings so far this month, with striker Umar Sadiq arriving from Real Sociedad, while English right-back Max Aarons has joined from Bournemouth to fill the void left by Thierry Correia who could miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury. 

Team News: 

Barcelona are in a similar position to midweek on the selection front. They are still missing long-term absentees Marc Bernal and Marc-André ter Stegen, while centre-back Íñigo Martínez and attacking midfielder Dani Olmo are also sidelined. 

Szczęsny's shocker in Lisbon, means there's little doubt that Iñaki Peña will return in goal. Flick could consider light rotation, with Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres pushing for more minutes, but he's unlikely to take too many risks with his lineup. 

As for Valencia, they have been dealt one major blow, with their impressive young centre-back Christian Mosquera suspended for this game. He has been one of their best players over the past year and has been linked with a number of Europe's biggest clubs. 

Aside from the long-term absence of Correia, Corberán also has doubts over Mouctar Diakhaby, Enzo Barrenechea, Rafa Mir and Umar Sadiq. Pepelu is on standby to replace Barrenechea, if the Aston Villa loanee doesn't recover. 

Barcelona vs Valencia Odds

Despite their woeful league form, Barcelona are still the 2/9 favourites to win this game. You can also back the Draw at 13/2, while a Valencia win is on offer at 12/1. 

If you see Barça's domestic struggles continuing, you can also back Valencia or Draw at 7/2 in the Double Chance market. Meanwhile, Los Che are priced at 4/1 to win either half. 

Both teams to score is available at 10/11, while you can also back Over 3.5 goals at 10/11. If you're confident that the home team will get back on track with a much needed three points, you can back Barcelona and Both teams to score at 7/5, while Barcelona and Over 3.5 goals is available at 11/10. 

Robert Lewandowski leads the way at 5/2 to score first and 4/7 to score anytime. There is some talk of the striker getting a rest though, with Ferran Torres likely to at least feature off the bench, if not from the start. The former Man City man is priced at 23/20 to score anytime. 

Raphinha added two more goals in the Champions League on Tuesday, and he's priced at 21/20 to score anytime here. Meanwhile, Valencia top scorer Hugo Duro is the most obvious candidate for an away goal, with the 25-year-old on offer at 11/1 to score first and 3/1 to score anytime. 

Bet 1 - Over 0.5 Valencia goals @ 4/5 

While they are far from a blistering attacking unit, Valencia have scored in each of their last seven games in all competitions, including their first five under Corberán. They posed problems for Real Madrid in their first match with the former West Brom boss at the helm, and Los Che have also scored on eight of their last nine league trips to play Barcelona. 

Flick's side have looked more vulnerable defensively since losing Martínez to an injury, with the fit again Araújo yet to reach his top level. They will continue to take risks though, and given Barça haven't kept a clean sheet in La Liga since El Clásico in October, I'm backing Over 0.5 Valencia goals at 4/5 here. 

Bet 2 - Lamine Yamal 2+ shots on target @ 11/10 

Even since Euro 2024 which he lit up as a 16-year-old in the summer, there has been a noticeable improvement in Lamine Yamal. He's growing in confidence and while Raphinha and Lewandowski may have better goalscoring records, he's very much the go-to man whenever Barcelona are trying to break a defensive team down. 

His ability to run at players and deliver crosses with accuracy has been evident for some time, but he's increasingly looking to cut inside into shooting positions and test the opposing goalkeeper. 

The stats back that shift up. In his opening 10 games for club and country this term, Yamal only hit the target more than once on one occasion. However, since the Clásico in Madrid, he has managed two or more shots on target in eight of his 13 appearances. 

With Valencia likely to drop deep at times, there could be plenty of opportunities for the teenager to shoot from range and I'm backing Lamine Yamal to have 2+ shots on target at 11/10.