Barcelona Vs Valencia: Blaugrana Focus On Securing Points At Home Temporary

Barcelona are focused on winning to compete at the top (photo: x @fcbarcelona)

JAKARTA - Barcelona will try to return to winning ways in Spain's highest caste as they continue their 20-25-26 campaign with a match against Valencia on Sunday evening, September 14.

The Catalonia giant is in fourth place in La Liga standings, with seven points from their first three games, while Los Che are in ninth place, collecting four points from the opening three matches.

The match was originally scheduled to open the new Camp Nou stadium, but the date has been postponed once again, so this match will be held at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which has a capacity of only 6,000 spectators.

The stadium is usually the headquarters of the second team and Barcelona women's team, and history will be created on Sunday, as Johan Cruyff Stadium will be the stadium with the lowest capacity ever to host La Liga matches.

Barcelona must rule out all disturbances, as Hansi Flick's men want to return to winning ways after the disappointment of the 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano in the last game.

The reigning champions won their opening two seasons against Mallorca and Levante, scoring six goals in the process, but they were overwhelmed against the last one, having to bounce back from two goals to win, while Flick's men's performance was far from the best against Rayo.

Seven points from three games put them in fourth place, two points behind leaders Real Madrid, who will have the opportunity to open up a five-point lead on Saturday afternoon.

Barcelona's attention will then turn to the Champions League, where the Catalonia team is scheduled to start their league phase with an away game against Newcastle United on September 18.

Meanwhile, Valencia opened their La Liga campaign with a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad, before losing 1-0 to Osasuna in the second game of the season.

Los Che were outstanding in their last game, beating Getafe 3-0 at Mestalla, and a solid four-point total of three games put them ninth.

Carlos Corberan's men finished 12th in La Liga last season, so there's room for improvements this season, and a busy summer transfer window seeing them bring in eight new players.

Valencia have only won 59 of their previous 230 matches against Barcelona in all competitions, and they have lost in the last four games, conceded 18 times in the process.

Barcelona beat Valencia 7-1 at the same meeting last season, while Los Che have never beaten the Catalonia giants at home to La Liga since April 2016.

Barcelona will miss Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi, Alejandro Balde, and Frenkie de Jong for this weekend's game, so Flick's options in midfield are limited.

Marc Casado will most likely be paired with Pedri, with Dani Olmo appearing number 10, while Ferran Torres is predicted to lead the front line once again, with Barcelona still taking care of Robert Lewandowski's fitness due to recent hamstring issues with the experienced striker.

Flick could make some changes in the back lines, with Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin both pushing into the squad on Sunday.

As for Valencia, Javi Guerra's future remains speculation despite signing a contract extension this summer, and the talented midfielder will be back in Los Che's core squad here.

The visitors' squad is actually in top condition at this time, without any reported injuries, so head coach Corberan has a big decision regarding team selection.

Arnaut Danjuma and Diego Lopez have both scored goals this season, and both have the chance to start in the final third of the pitch, while captain Jose Gaya should return to play wing-back on the left.

Player Composition Forecast

Barcelona: J Garcia; Kounde, E Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin; Pedri, Casado; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Torres

Valencia: Agirezabala; Tarrega, Diakhaby, Copete; Foulquier, Guerra, Santamaria, Gaya; Lopez, Danjuma, Rioja