Playing Barcelona in front of 6,000 fans is “atypical,” says Corberán as Valencia make efforts to accommodate travelling fans | OneFootball

Valencia will face Barcelona in front of just 6,000 fans at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Sunday, with the Spotify Camp Nou still out of bounds for the Blaugrana amidst ongoing construction works.

The match venue was confirmed just days before the fourth round of the LaLiga season, and Valencia’s Carlos Corberán expressed that “it’s not normal”.

“It’s the RFEF and LaLiga that write the rules. They have to ensure that the rules they write are followed, not us,” the 42-year-old insisted during his pre-match press conference, adding that he’s worked to ensure the team focus on “ourselves and our rival, independent of the pitch we’ll play them on.”

While Corberán is confident that the situation shouldn’t affect Valencia’s performance too much, he emphasised that “it affects the fans, who are the most important thing in football. When the stadium was confirmed, the club made efforts to ensure that 290 fans could be with the team and that’s positive – for us, it’s necessary.”

“Whoever writes the rules needs to watch out for them. It’s an atypical situation and it’s not normal, nor is it in accordance with the level of prestige that this competition should have.”

Valencia and Barcelona have both picked up 7 points from their first three LaLiga fixtures, and will aim to rise to 2nd in the standings by registering a win in Sant Feliu de Llobregat on Sunday. Corberán has insisted that his side “know that we’re playing against one of the best teams in the world,” and assured fans that they’ll look to avenge the two heavy defeats they suffered against Barça last season.

“When you play against Barcelona, your concentration has to be top-notch and also your ability to respond. If the response doesn’t match the speed at which they play, you’re going to suffer. It has to be maximal because we’re playing one of the best teams in the world.”

Barcelona v Valencia gets underway at 20:00 BST [21:00 CEST] on Sunday 14 September.