After just over a month, the ball will roll again at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in a match of LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25. An FC Barcelona emboldened after a historic victory against Benfica in the Champions League will host Valencia at Montjuïc, with the urgency to transfer their brutal performance in the continental competition to the local level to achieve a win that allows them to stay in the title race.

The team led by Hansi Flick will face a rival in poor form. The Valencia team occupies the nineteenth place in the standings and has managed only one victory in the last 8 league matches. Moreover, they have not won in blaugrana territory for over 8 years, so the stage is set for the Catalans to redeem themselves and secure three crucial points to narrow the gap with Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid.

Barça needs a victory at Montjuïc

The FC Barcelona has started 2025 like a true 'storm', thrashing Barbastro (0-4) and Betis (5-1) in the Copa del Rey and becoming the champion of the Supercopa de España in a crushing manner after defeating Athletic Club (0-2) and Real Madrid (2-5), in addition to achieving a legendary comeback against Benfica in the Champions (4-5).

However, in LaLiga, the blaugranas have maintained the trend with which they ended the first half of the season, where neither luck nor refereeing decisions favored the team. In the first match of this new year in the league, the Catalans suffered a controversial and undeserved draw against Leganés (1-1), where a clear penalty not called on Jules Koundé ended up affecting the score.

With this stumble at the Coliseum, Barça has added its fourth match without winning in LaLiga. The Catalans have accumulated 6 points out of 24 possible in the last eight matches (1 win, 3 draws, and 4 losses), and they have not known victory at home since November 3, when they defeated Espanyol in the Catalan derby (3-1).

  • FC Barcelona 1-2 UD Las Palmas, on November 30, 2024.
  • FC Barcelona 0-1 Leganés, on December 15, 2024.
  • FC Barcelona 1-2 Atlético de Madrid, on December 21, 2024.

Since then, three consecutive defeats against Las Palmas, Leganés, and Atlético de Madrid have matched the worst home losing streak for the blaugranas in LaLiga since the 1965/66 season. For this reason, next Sunday’s match against Carlos Corberán's team presents the ideal opportunity to return to the winning path in the league competition and get back into the title race.

Will Hansi Flick activate the rotations?

To seek the three points, Hansi Flick could introduce some changes compared to the lineup presented against Benfica last Tuesday, as it was the same used against Betis in the Copa del Rey. Frenkie de Jong and Eric García could enter the starting lineup, while Iñaki Peña will almost certainly return to the starting position after seeing Szczesny occupy his place between the posts at the Estádio da Luz.

However, the German coach will still have to deal with the significant absence of Dani Olmo, who is still working on recovering from his overload in the soleus of his right leg, which prevented him from being present in the Champions match. Also injured and unavailable will be Marc-André Ter Stegen, Marc Bernal, and Iñigo Martínez, whose return is expected in February.

Barça faces one of its favorite victims

The Valencia team will visit one of the venues that has been most challenging for them in recent years. In the City of Barcelona, Barça has imposed itself with authority over the che team, registering six victories and two draws in the last 8 encounters between both teams in blaugrana territory.

To find the last victory of Valencia in Barcelona, we must go back to April 17, 2016, when an own goal by Rakitic and a goal by Santi Mina gave them the three points (1-2). Messi reduced the deficit, but the team led by Luis Enrique was unable to even equalize the match.

Since then, 8 years and 9 months ago, the dominance of the Catalans over Valencia at home has been overwhelming. In addition to being unbeaten in 8 duels, the blaugranas have scored 22 goals, averaging 2.75 per match, and have conceded 12, a ratio of 1.5 per encounter.

Thus, the scenario is perfect to fully engage in the fight for the league title. The Catalans are third with 39 points, tied with Athletic Club, 5 units behind the second-placed Atlético de Madrid, and 7 behind the leader, Real Madrid. Therefore, at Montjuïc and against one of their favorite victims, the wind is blowing in favor of a Barça that aims to secure three key points in their championship aspirations.

Ficha técnica del partido

  • All the information about the match: FC Barcelona - Valencia
  • Competition: LaLiga EA Sports
  • Possible lineups: The XI of Barça and Valencia
  • Stadium: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, 49.472 viewers
  • Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez
  • Schedules and television: When and where to watch the match - World Guide
  • Tickets: Buy tickets to watch Barça vs Valencia