The Calã “Barcelona” club, leader of the Spanish Championship, visits Valencia, second placed, this Sunday, for the 13th round of the competition, in a duel in which Messi and company could have a hand on the cup in case of victory.
Barça leads the League with 34 points, four more than Valencia and ten ahead of the two Madrid teams. A victory would see the Catalans rocket to the top of the table after 13 rounds, especially if Real Madrid (3rd) and Atlético (4th) stumble again against Málaga (18th) and Levante (12th).
Coach Ernesto Valverde showed how important this weekend’s duel is for Barcelona, sparing Lionel Messi from Wednesday’s match against Juventus, in the group stage of the Champions League.
“It was a risky decision, because he is the best in the world, but we thought it was a suitable day”, said Valverde after the clash against Juventus, remembering that Messi “has been accumulating a lot of minutes”.
The Argentine striker, who entered the field in the second half against Juve, will return to the starting lineup alongside Luis Suárez on Sunday in search of a vital victory for Barcelona, who, on the other hand, will be without defender Gerard Piqué , suspended due to card accumulation.
On the other hand, there will be a Valencia team that has left behind the image of an irregular team from last season.
In the hands of coach Marcelino Toral, Valencia doesn’t know what it’s like to lose in the League and has 9 wins and 3 draws in the first 12 rounds.
However, Marcelino, who as a coach has never defeated Barcelona, will not be on the sidelines to lead his team, as he will be suspended for his expulsion in last weekend’s match against Espanyol.
“We all have to be 100%, defend as a block, have a perfect attitude and we have to be very solid in defense, especially”, warned Valencia full-back Martín Montoya.
NN Editorial, Photo: DR