Preview: Valencia vs. FC Barcelona – Team news and prediction

Out-of-form Barcelona is set to visit Valencia this Saturday evening.

FC Barcelona has lost their two recent matches to Girona and Royal Antwerp, conceding a total of 7 goals in the process. What's particularly alarming is that Barcelona has traditionally been known for a strong defense, but this season, there are significant issues that Xavi needs to address to prevent further point losses. 
Valencia, on the other hand, sits in a somewhat neutral position in the league, occupying the 11th place, where they are out of reach of the top teams but also have a comfortable distance from the relegation zone.

Barcelona needs three points as they are currently 7 points behind the league leaders, Girona, and 5 points behind Real Madrid. They have put themselves in a position where they cannot afford to drop too many points if they want to regain the La Liga title.

Last five matches between Valencia vs. Barcelona: 
◉ 1-0: Barcelona vs. Valencia
◉ 0-1: Valencia vs. Barcelona
◉ 1-4: Valencia vs. Barcelona 
◉ 3-1: Barcelona vs. Valencia 
◉ 2-3: Valencia vs. Barcelona 

Team news: 
Andre Almeida and Jose Gaya are out with injuries and are not expected to be fit for the match. Additionally, two key players, Gabriel Paulista and Javi Guerra, will be unavailable due to suspension after being sent off against Getafe.

Inigo Martinez, Marcos Alonso, Gavi, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are still sidelined with injuries, but there is relief as Frenkie De Jong returns after illness. It's difficult to assess how Xavi will line up, but changes are expected as the team's performance hasn't been up to par in the last two matches.

Valencia expected lineup:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Mosquera, Diakhaby, Gasiorowski; Foulquier, Guillamon, Pepelu, Perez; Lopez, Duro

Barcelona expected lineup: 
Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Cancelo; Pedri, De Jong, Gundogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix

Prediction: 
The last two encounters between the two teams have ended with a 1-0 victory for Barcelona. Xavi will focus on the defense in this match as the team has conceded too many goals. It is therefore likely that we will see a repetition of the previous encounters with a 1-0 victory for Barcelona. Since Valencia does not possess the same quality as before, we believe that Barcelona will win the match in a low-scoring affair. 

Therefore, we predict under 2.5 goals at odds 1.95 at Betway.

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