Barcelona vs Valencia 15/09/19

15 September 2019

Two sides that have had identical returns from the opening three La Liga (LL) fixtures (W1, D1, L1) go head-to-head at Camp Nou as Barcelona tackle Valencia.

Denied for Leo Messi’s services, the Catalans have been struggling for consistency in the early stage of the season, with their only LL triumph coming on home turf (a 5-2 hammering of Real Betis). For Barcelona, most of the action takes part in the second half, as six of a total of seven league goals they’ve scored so far came after the break. But, the hosts have failed to keep a clean slate in LL to date, conceding precisely two goals per match twice already. It was also the case in three of their last four LL meetings with Valencia here, although the Blaugrana came out on top twice across those clashes (W2, D1, L1).

The visitors have, meanwhile, bounced back after a disappointing start to the season (D1, L1), securing a 2-0 home triumph over Mallorca last time out. Goals have been at a premium for the Bats so far, as each of their league matches this campaign has featured under 2.5 goals with just one seeing both teams score. Still, none of Valencia’s last eight LL trips has ended in a stalemate (W5, L3), with three of their wins in that sequence coming by a narrow one-goal margin. Interestingly, four spot-kicks had already been awarded in Valencia’s LL games this term, three of which were in their favor.