Defending La Liga champions Barcelona will fight it out against Valencia in their third fixture of this year's edition of the tournament on September 14 at the Camp Nou.
The Catalan club will look forward to bounce back after they were held by a quite impressive Osasuna away from home whereas Valencia will be aiming to build on their win over Mallorca with newly appointed coach Albert Celadesas.
Preview, Prediction and Schedule
The Spanish giants have not started this year's campaign on a positive note. They lost their opening fixture 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao. In their second match they put up an impressive display as they defeated Real Betis 5-2 with a brace from Frenchman Antoine Griezmann who was signed this season.
But again they were held by a resilent Osasuna side who came back from 2-1 down to make it equal in the dying minutes of the match. Valverde's team's defensive organisation has come into question as they have conceded four goals in three matches.
The Catalan club who are currently placed eight on the points table are suffering a lot due to the absence of star playmaker Lionel Messi who is still recovering from injury.
The defending champions are slated to face Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night for their opening Champions League fixture and the Argentine is expected to be back in the squad for that match, much to the relief of the manager.
Injuries have been a major concern for Barca this season as Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele picked up injuries in the opening fixture. Suarez is expected to be back against Valencia but Dembele is not there in the picture.
The Blaugrana need to set things right since, if they lose the fixture against Valencia, then there is a probabilty of a eight point gap between them and Athletico Madrid. Last time both the sides met in the Copa Del Rey final, Valencia emerged as the winners. This time around Barcelona will want to turn things around and get back in the top half of the table.
On the other hand, Valencia recently sacked their manager Marcelinho ahead of the Barca fixture. They have appointed former Real Madrid assistant coach Celades.
The Los Che had a decent start to their season as they were held by Real Sociedad at home. In the second fixture they had a major hiccup as they lost 1-0 to Celta Vigo away from home. But in the third match of their La Liga campaign, they registered their first win of the season against Mallorca.
The defending Copa Del Rey champions who defeated the Catalan club to win the title will aim to repeat this feat again at the Camp Nou before they travel to Chelsea for their opening Champions League fixture. It will be a major morale booster for the players if they can squeeze out a win before they travel to Stamford Bridge.
The Catalan club have a slight edge over their opponents as the fixture will be played at Camp Nou. But the absence of Lionel Messi will be a major concern as the Argentine genius has scored Barca's last four goals against Valencia.
The Los Che can definitely upset the Spanish giants as it will be a highly contested fixture with not a lot to differentiate between the two teams.
The Barcelona-Valencia match will start at 9 PM on September 14 according to local time and 12.30 AM IST on September 15.
Live Streaming: How and where to watch in India
The match will not be telecasted in India as Sony Sports network did not get the broadcasting rights. The fixture will be streamed live on the official La Liga page on Facebook.
