Valencia vs Barcelona

February 8, 2016
By: Milos Markovic

Gary Neville has never been the man who backs down in front of the first hurdle, but his coaching credentials have been put in serious danger and Valencia boss is walking on thin ice ahead of the Copa del Rey return leg against Barcelona.

Neville under pressure

Valencia manager is winless in the La Liga since his arrival to Mestalla in December and Gary Neville’s only wins came exactly in the Copa del Rey. It was before he was pitted against Barcelona in the semi-finals, which was the worst possible timing for former England manager to run into a brick wall. Los Che were dealt with an incredibly harsh blow as they suffered a 7-0 loss in the first leg at Camp Nou. Neville tried to apologize to the fans, but Valencia faithful are losing their patience and there is more and more calls for Neville to be sacked. He will not back down and is determined to see his contract through, calling upon the public not to judge him after six weeks, but after six months. There is not enough time though, as Valencia are slipping dangerously close to the relegation zone. The team is on the three-match losing streak and Neville will have many problems snapping the poor run during the week against the strongest possible opposition.

Los Che are preparing to host Barcelona without Javi Fuego and Enzo Perez who are injured for the occasion. In addition, Paco Alcacer failed to recover in time and will also be forced to sit through the fixture.

Luis Suarez to the rescue

The Uruguay international has been in sublime form this season for Barcelona. Suarez has made a significant improvement to last year and his imposing form has been particularly impressive in recent weeks. The 29-year-old striker was once again on mark during the weekend at Levante, when he helped his team score an important win. Barcelona opened the proceedings through an own goal and were forced to wait until the final moments of the math to get the confirmation goal from Luis Suarez, who bagged his 20th goal in 20 league appearances for the team. Barcelona have set their course to the La Liga title, but they will be also keen on making an impression in the Copa del Rey as they are looking to recreate their impressive 2014-15 season. First leg win gives Luis Enrique plenty of reason for optimism, perhaps even enough room for experiments at Mestalla. Barcelona manager is coming to town with seven-goal advantage which is more than enough to provide him with the possibility to shuffle his deck a bit, maybe try out some new ideas on the pitch.

Enrique will have no major injury worries ahead of the trip to Mestalla. All first-team regulars are fit, Rafinha remains the only absentee.

Verdict

Barcelona re unstoppable at the moment and despite the fear of complacency, they should not have any problems claiming another win against Valencia. It is not in their nature to sit back and wait for 90 minutes to go by, I expect them to attack from the off.

Top pick: Barcelona   1.62 (8/13) @WilliamHill

Alternative pick 1: Barcelona/Barcelona   2.5 (6/4) @888sport

Alternative pick 2: Barcelona to win to nil   3.25 (9/4) @BetVictor

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