Barcelona faces Valencia in the “Mestalla” with its eyes on being at the top of the Spanish League

All eyes will be on the Mestalla Stadium on Sunday evening, as Barcelona will host Valencia in the fourth round of the Spanish Football League, in a confrontation during which the defending champion will be looking for its fourth successive victory and seclude itself at the top of the competition table, benefiting from Real Madrid's sudden fall to Real Betis, 0-1. Barcelona enters the match at the top of the table with 9 points, after achieving the perfect score in its first three matches, while Valencia occupies 17th place with only one point. The Catalan team now has a valuable opportunity to distance itself from its traditional rival, Real Madrid, whose score also stopped at 9 points after its loss to Betis, with Barcelona currently ahead of it on goal difference. If Barcelona wins over Valencia, it will raise its score to 12 points and be at the top, 3 points behind Real Madrid and Betis.

Barcelona is experiencing a strong start to the season under the leadership of its German coach, Hansi Flick, after starting the campaign to defend its title by defeating Elche with 5 unanswered goals, then defeating Athletic Bilbao with 2 unanswered goals, before continuing its ideal start with a great victory over Rayo Vallecano 5-2 in the last round. The team scored 12 goals in its first three matches, while conceding only two goals, which reflects its offensive strength and ability to impose its style since the beginning of the season. The victory over Rayo Vallecano was particularly remarkable, after Rafinha and Lamine Yamal each scored two goals, while Yamal continued to confirm his position as one of the most prominent elements of the team, scoring his 50th goal with Barcelona, becoming the youngest player to reach this number of goals with one of the top 5 European league clubs. Rafinha is also making a great start, having scored 5 goals and assisted a goal in the first 3 league matches, forming, along with Yamal and Anthony Gordon, one of The most dangerous keys to Barcelona's attacking play.

This start gives Flick multiple attacking options, especially with the brilliance of Rafinha, the return of Fermin Lopez to the playmaker position, and Yamal continuing on the wing, while newcomer Anthony Gordon continues to have an important role in the attacking third. Flick is expected to rely on a strong squad despite the approaching start of Barcelona's Champions League campaign, as it will meet in the first round with Feyenoord next Wednesday. On the other hand, Valencia's task seems more difficult in light of the team's humble beginning. The team was content with a goalless draw with Celta Vigo in the first round, then lost to Real Betis with an unanswered goal, before falling to Deportivo La Coruña 1-3, earning only one point out of a possible 9. Valencia also scored only one goal in its 3 matches, compared to conceding 4 goals, which explains the size of the difference in level and results between the two teams before facing “Mestalla.”

However, Barcelona cannot treat the match as easy, especially since Valencia achieved a surprising 3-1 victory over the Catalan team in their last confrontation at the “Mestalla” stadium last season, which ended a long series of Barcelona’s superiority in direct confrontations. Barcelona has a clear advantage historically in total matches, but last season's match confirmed that playing in Mestalla could represent a different test, even against the defending champion. Both teams suffer from some absences before the match. Among Valencia's ranks, Justin De Haas, Sergi Canos, Jose Copete, Diego Lopez, and Nicolas Otamendi are absent, along with Or Rodriguez, while doubts loom over the participation of Dimitri Faulquier and Luis Rioja. As for Barcelona, ​​they are missing Frenkie de Jong, Ronnie Bardagui, and Jesse Bisio due to injuries, with there also being doubts about Gavi’s readiness.

It is expected that Marc Bernal and Pedri will continue to lead Barcelona's midfield, with the possibility of newcomer Rodri participating again from the bench, while Rafinha remains one of the most important cards that Flick relies on, after he started the season with a high scoring rate. Flick may make some changes in the back line, with Eric Garcia and Gerard Martin participating, while Fermin Lopez returns to the playmaker position behind the trio of Yamal, Gordon and Rafinha.

The match gains additional importance for Barcelona before the start of its European journey, as the team seeks to enter the Champions League with high morale, and at the same time exploit Real Madrid's first stumble this season to send an early message in the race to compete for the league title. Victory in Mestalla will not only give Barcelona 3 points, but will place it alone at the top with a relatively comfortable margin after 4 rounds, and confirms that the defending champion is determined to defend its throne from the first weeks.

As for Valencia, they realize that facing Barcelona represents an ideal opportunity to reverse expectations and restore confidence after a disappointing start, especially since the team is playing in front of its fans. While the balance seems clearly tilted in favor of Barcelona, ​​given the results and the team’s strong attack at the beginning of the season, “Mestalla” was already a witness to Valencia’s ability to stop the defending champion, which makes the confrontation a real test of the ability of Flick’s team to deal with matches outside its stadium when it enters them and is the most prominent candidate to win.