Overview
Valencia has won 3 of their last 5 matches in La Liga, including a breathtaking score chase against Real Sociedad in the previous round. That result helps the home team at Mestalla continue to nurture hopes of winning a European cup ticket before the final round of the season.
Currently, Los Che are ranked 9th in the standings, 2 points behind Getafe - who are currently 7th and qualified for the Conference League.
Compared to 12th place last season, Valencia has clearly made a big step forward under Carlos Corberan, although the gap between them and the mid-table group is still quite fragile, only three points ahead of Alaves in 14th place.
However, Valencia's final challenge will be extremely difficult when they have to welcome Barcelona - an opponent who has repeatedly caused them nightmares in recent seasons.
Earlier this season, Valencia lost 0-6 to Barcelona in La Liga. Before that, they were also crushed 0-5 by the Catalan team in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals in February at the Mestalla.
More broadly, Valencia has conceded 18 goals in just the last three encounters with Barca and has never defeated the opponent since the 2-0 victory in January 2020.
In the opposite direction, Barcelona is maintaining a 12-match unbeaten streak against Valencia in all competitions. In La Liga, the Catalan team has also only lost to Los Che once since April 2016.
Hansi Flick's team entered this match with an extremely comfortable mentality after the 3-1 victory over Real Betis, thereby raising the total points this season to 94 - 11 points more than Real Madrid.
Barcelona actually decided the championship after a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in El Clasico. Although they then unexpectedly lost to Alaves away from home, Barca still closed the season with the absolute position of champion.
Flick's team has won all 19 home matches in La Liga this season, and also has the best away record in the league with 37 points after 18 matches.
In addition to the La Liga championship, Barcelona also won the Spanish Super Cup at the beginning of the year. However, the upcoming summer promises to be very busy for the Camp Nou team as they continue to plan to strengthen their forces to aim for the goal of conquering the Champions League next season.
Personnel situation
Valencia will definitely not have the service of Eray Comert due to suspension, while Mouctar Diakhaby continues to be absent due to muscle injury.
In addition, the Mestalla team also has to wait for the fitness assessment of a series of key players before welcoming Barcelona. Lucas Beltran is having a knee problem, Jose Copete has ankle pain, and Dimitri Foulquier, Jose Gaya and Renzo Saravia have not fully recovered from muscle injuries.
On the other side, Barcelona will be missing two notable names, Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez due to injury. Yamal has a hamstring problem, and Fermin suffers a foot injury.
However, Hansi Flick also received many positive signals about the force. Marcus Rashford has returned to training after a minor injury, Frenkie de Jong recovered from illness, while Ferran Torres is also ready to reappear after a muscle problem. All three are likely to start at Mestalla.
Expected lineup:
Valencia: Dimitrievski, Rendall, Tarrega, Nunez, Vazquez, Rioja, Ugrinic, Rodriguez, Ramazani, Guerra, Duro.
Barcelona: J. Garcia, Araujo, Cubarsi, E. Garcia, Balde, Gavi, De Jong, Pedri, Raphinha, F. Torres, Rashford.
The match between Valencia and Barcelona takes place at 2:00 a.m. on May 24 (Vietnam time).
