Barcelona will be facing an unsettled Valencia side at home
Last season, Valencia fared very well against Barcelona. Both the league matches ended in stalemates. But most importantly, Barça were beaten by the Aragonese side in the Copa del Rey final, ending a 5-year winning streak.
But Barça have the opportunity to break the rut. Ernesto Valverde’s men had already received a major boost when Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez returned from injury to link up with Antoine Griezmann. But now, Barça have got another advantage.
Valencia have just sacked their manager Marcelino. After a highly successful debut season, Marcelino led Valencia to a 4th place finish in the La Liga and a run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. But he had disagreements with chairman Peter Lim, which led to his dismissal.
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History proves that Valencia do not cope well with uncertainty at the helm of the squad. They went through a period of intense instability following Nuno’s departure, and were once thrashed 7-0 by Barça in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Former Real Madrid assistant coach Albert Celades has been appointed as Marcelino’s replacement, but he is unlikely to last very long at the Mestalla due to his lack of experience. Moreover, he will have very little time to prepare for Valencia’s trip to the Camp Nou.
Barça and Valencia have had similar starts to the season. But Barça’s upper hand will be reinforced against an underprepared Valencia side. It would unwise to think that Celades can hit the ground running at Valencia regardless of Barcelona’s performance at the Camp Nou.