Trailing in the La Liga title race by seven points, Barcelona will look to make up ground as they host struggling Valencia in domestic play on Sunday.
The Blaugrana have dropped points in four straight league matches, seeing them fall further back in the hunt, but their strong overall form in other competitions provides hope of an imminent turnaround.
They won the Supercopa de Espana by clobbering Clasico rivals Real Madrid 5-2 two weeks prior, and they beat Benfica in a 5-4 Champions League thriller to put themselves in a strong European position.
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Valencia, meanwhile, are in a truly dire situation. After flirting with relegation two seasons ago but barely escaping, they now sit 19th in the league table with just 16 points through 20 matches. A win last time out over Real Sociedad will help, but there’s still lots of work to do.
The Sporting News runs through the latest team news and injury updates for both sides as the match draws nearer.
Barcelona vs. Valencia lineups, predicted starting 11, team news
Despite being registered for play, Dani Olmo will miss out thanks to a muscle injury that will keep him sidelined for around two weeks.
The Spain international is joined by Inigo Martinez in the training room, who will miss a few more weeks due to a hamstring problem. Out for the season are Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal, who both have long-term knee issues.
It would be shocking not to see Inaki Pena come back into the lineup to replace Wojciech Szczesny who had a mistake-filled performance in the wild win over Benfica midweek.
Barcelona predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Pena (GK) — Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde — Casado, Pedri — Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha — Lewandowski
Injured: Olmo (muscle), I. Martinez (hamstring), Ter Stegen (ACL), Bernal (ACL)
Suspended: None
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It’s been a tough season for fitness at Valencia, as a number of players are struggling to keep themselves on the pitch.
Right-back Thierry Correia is confirmed to miss out, as he will be sidelined the rest of the campaign with an ACL tear, while Mouctar Diakhaby has yet to appear this season as he nears a return from his long-term knee injury.
A number of other individuals are considered a doubt. Rafa Mir, Umar Sadiq, and Max Caufriez are all dealing with issues and will need to be assessed before the match. Mir has been plagued with hamstring problems all season, leaving Hugo Duro to lock down the striker spot.
Hugo Guillamon will likely come in at centre-back for the suspended Cristhian Mosquera.
Valencia predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Mamardashvili (GK) — Foulquier, Tarrega, Guillamon, Gaya — Guerra, Barrenechea — D. Lopez, Almeida, Rioja — Duro
Injured: Correia (ACL), Diakhaby (knee), Mir (hamstring), Sadiq (knock), Caufriez (knock)
Suspended: Mosquera (yellow-card suspension)
Barcelona vs. Valencia live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this La Liga match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV channel | Streaming |
| USA | ESPN Deportes | Fubo USA, ESPN+ |
| Canada | — | TSN+ |
| UK | Premier Sports 2, La Liga TV | Premier Sports Player |
| Australia | beIN Sports 2 | beIN Sports Connect |
| India | — | GXR World |