Valencia vs Barcelona – Copa Del Rey – Preview

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Sreya

The second leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-finals will see Valencia host Barcelona at the Mestalla on Wednesday, 10th February. The home side, who are in a bit of crisis at the moment, must overcome a seven-goal deficit which looks improbable by all means.

Valencia conceded a quadruplet of goals to Luis Suarez’s clinical finishing and aided Lionel Messi to yet another hattrick when these two sides met at El Camp Nou last Wednesday. Gary Neville is under tremendous pressure with his side struggling to win matches in the recent weeks – a significant side of the Spanish media announcing the English manager is on the brink earlier this week.

Team News

Shkrodan Mustafi, who was sent off at Camp Nou last week, is suspended. Paco Alcacer and Enzo Perez have recuperated from their injuries and are likely to feature in the matchday squad.

Lionel Messi will miss the game after a minor surgery to remove kidney stones this past week. According to Enrique, Sergi Samper, Gerard Gumbau, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Juan Camara and Dani Romera all trained with the senior squad on Monday and could be included in the matchday party, with Rafinha (knee) being the only confirmed absentee.

Thoughts From Both Camps

“The team are hurting; it is a very difficult situation for everyone. It’s sad, but it’s the reality. The coach makes his choices and they have to be respected. He also wants us to get out of this situation.

We have had good games that we haven’t won, and others that have been disappointing – such as the one against Barcelona. At times the team have improved, and at other times we haven’t. We must be united and get out of this slump.”

– Alvaro Negredo, Valencia.

“We have prepared for tomorrow’s game in the same way as if we did not have the first leg result. Tomorrow we will give the squad list, the same as always. Our objective is still the same, to be superior to the opponent.

It is not an easy game. We will have to look for motivation for the players to compete well. I hope that the team shows up and goes for the win from the first minute.”

– Luis Enrique, Barcelona.

Contributor’s Pick

According to Head-2-Head statistics, Valencia have won only 22% of their matches against Barcelona. On current form, Barcelona are most likely to progress to the finals, with 4-0 in favor of the visitors being the most likely result.