La Liga resumes early after the international break with a game on Friday night but the bulk of the matches take place on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. One of the games on Saturday features two of the Champions League hopefuls this season as Barcelona welcome Valencia to the Camp Nou.
Both teams are looking to inject their season with a good win. Barcelona begin the match in 8th place with 4 points while Valencia are just two places behind them on the same number of points but a worse goal difference.
The hosts have not enjoyed their start to the 2019/20 La Liga campaign as they attempt to retain their title. Barcelona started with a tricky fixture away to Athletic Bilbao and failed to find the back of the net in a 1-0 defeat.
The visit of Real Betis to the Camp Nou seemingly got things back on track for the defending champions. A good 5-2 win had the fans believing things were back to normal but then came two more dropped points away from home as Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw at Osasuna.
However, trends show Barcelona have lost just two of their last twenty-nine La Liga matches and have won each of their last eight at home. They have managed to score at least one goal in each of their last twenty home La Liga games and will be aiming to continue that run with a few goals in this match.
Valencia started the season with a home match against Real Sociedad and it seemed like the perfect chance to get the campaign off to a winning start. However, they were held to a 1-1 draw and worse was to come as Valencia travelled to Celta Vigo on the second weekend of the season and lost the match 1-0.
Prior to the international break, Valencia picked up their first win of the season as they defeated newly promoted Real Mallorca 2-0 at home. It was the victory they needed ahead of the trip to the Camp Nou.
Trends show Valencia have won four of their last six La Liga matches by 2 goals or more. They have scored 2 or more goals in four of their last five away La Liga games but have kept only one clean sheet in the last six on the road.
Team news and Barcelona are set to be without Lionel Messi as he continues to recover from a calf injury. Ousmane Dembele and Neto join Messi on the treatment table. The hosts could also be without Luis Suarez, Nelson Samedo and Samuel Umtiti.
Valencia will be without Alberto Moreno for the foreseeable future as he has a calf problem. Bruno Soriano is rated as doubtful with a knee injury.
This game should have plenty of goal mouth action. Neither defence has looked convincing this season and Barcelona could come out on top with both teams scoring.