Barca has a massive seven-goal advantage at Mestalla on Wednesday night in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final with Valencia.
Valencia have what has to be considered an impossible task, in over-turning a 7-0 deficit from the first leg of Copa del Rey semi-final. The Blaugrana were certainly the team in form in the first leg, and the win probably won’t have come as that much of a surprise to many. But the manner in which it was achieved and the final scoreline left a bad taste in Valencia supporters’ mouths and left Neville having to face the music both from supporters and the media. It was a seven-goal margin, but in truth it could’ve been 10 or 12, such was Barca’s dominance from start to finish.
The weekend win at Levante extended Barca’s unbeaten run to 28 matches in all competitions, equalling the record set by Pep Guardiola’s side in the 2010-11 season, meaning the Catalans need simply to avoid defeat against Gary Neville’s struggling outfit to see Luis Enrique reach another impressive milestone in his time in charge.
Los Che are in desperate form and Neville seems incapable of making a difference. The latest 1-0 defeat at Real Betis has left the fans in despair as their beloved team was left sitting in 14th place with just four points in front of the first team above the relegation zone.
That loss to Betis piled even more pressure on under-fire boss Neville. He has remained defiant in the face of calls for him to step down, with Valencia having failed to win in nine league games since he took charge in December, and another humiliation on Wednesday could force the hand of owner Peter Lim.
The winner of the tie is likely to face Sevilla in the final, with Unai Emery’s men holding a 4-0 first-leg lead over Celta Vigo ahead of their meeting on Thursday.
Head to head
With a 7-0 lead from the first leg, Barça couldn’t be better poised for place in the final, but there are still another 90 minutes to be played. Valencia are expected to put in a better showing than the first leg.
- Barcelona have won their 10th consecutive game at the weekend
- Gary Neville is winless in nine La Liga games since his arrival
- Barca triumphed in 4 of last 5 games against Valencia in all competitions
- Los Che have last defeated Barcelona in 2014
- Valencia won only two of their last 10 home games in all competitions
Team News
Valencia
Valencia welcomed back Paco Alcacer and Enzo Perez to training on Monday, both of whom missed the first leg due to respective ankle and facial injuries, but Shkodran Mustafi is definitely out after his red card at Camp Nou.
Barcelona
Lionel Messi has faced medical checks over the kidney complaint which caused him to miss part of the Club World Cup in December and could be rested for the game. Sergi Samper, Gerard Gumbau, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Juan Camara and Dani Romera all trained with the senior squad on Monday and could be included in the matchday party, with Rafinha (knee) the only certain absentee.
Possible Line-ups
Valencia: Ryan; Barragan, Abdennour, Vezo, Gaya; Parejo, Perez, Gomes; Cheryshev, Negredo, Feghouli
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Vidal, Pique, Vermaelen, Mathieu; Turan, Samper, Kaptoum; Neymar, Suarez, Munir
From : SS.com
