16 qualifiers, 4 finals, 2 group stage matches
Barça has won the Copa del Rey 11 times out of the 22 times it has faced Valencia
The Barcelona team and the Che team have faced each other on numerous occasions and the champion of the competition has emerged from most of the duels
Valencia and Barça will face each other for the twenty-third time in the Copa del Rey. This is the seventeenth round that both teams will play in the national competition. A Blaugrana expedition, led by Hansi Flick, will head to Mestalla to face Carlos Corberán's charges this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. This is the match corresponding to the quarter-finals, so the winner will be just one step away from reaching the final at the La Cartuja stadium (Seville).
The curious thing about this duel is not only the numerous times that both teams have faced each other. The most striking thing is that, of the 22 times they have faced each other, 16 qualifiers, 4 finals and 2 group stage clashes, the champion of the competition has emerged on 17 occasions. FC Barcelona, the tournament's biggest winners with 31 titles under their belt, have won the title in 11 of the 22 editions in which they have faced each other. On the other hand, Valencia, who have won the title on 8 occasions, 6 of them after having faced the Catalan club.
The clashes between Valencia and Barça in detail
Chance has wanted the meeting between both teams to take place at Mestalla. Valencia has played 18 Copa del Rey matches between the two since 1924. The history is very even, as the Catalans have won on 5 occasions, compared to the 6 that the host team has done. On the other hand, the final result has been a draw in 7 editions. One of the draws (1924/1925) and one of the victories of the locals (1926/1927) took place in the play-offs, a phase that no longer exists. The record in knockout rounds is therefore 5 won by Barça, 6 draws and 5 for the Turia team.
In this century, they have faced each other on 5 occasions, four in the semi-finals and one in the final. Again, the record is very evenly distributed, as the Blaugrana team has sold 3 of them, compared to 2 for Valencia. The penultimate round brought them together in the 2007/2008 seasons, with a 4-3 aggregate in favour of the Ches, 2011/2012, with a 3-1 aggregate for the Blaugranas, 2015/2016, sealed with a bulky 8-1 for the team led by Luis Enrique, and 2017/2018, finished with a 0-3 that smiled on Ernesto Valverde's pupils. The only final of the competition in this century took place in the 2018/2019 campaign and was won by the club that wears black and white (1-2).
Although only one final has been played in this century, there were 3 more in the past. Specifically, in 1952, 1954 and 1971. They were played at Real Madrid's home grounds, the first two at the Chamartín Stadium and the other at the Santiago Bernabéu. FC Barcelona won two, in 1952 and 1971, while the other edition ended in the trophy cabinet of Valencia CF.
Thus, the tie that will take place this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. at Mestalla will be a duel with a lot of history behind it. The pupils aim to win in order to advance to the next round for the eleventh time out of the 16 they have faced each other. Likewise, winning and reaching the semi-finals would be a good way to clean up the Barça image after the most recent precedent, which was the 2019 final.
