Barcelona vs Valencia – Match preview and team news | OneFootball

After three away fixtures, Barcelona return to familiar surroundings for their first home match of the 2025/26 La Liga season when they welcome Valencia to the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Sunday evening.

Both sides will be eager to secure a positive result in this encounter, with Barcelona currently sitting fifth in the table and Valencia positioned 11th after mixed starts to their respective campaigns.

Barcelona vs Valencia – Match Preview and Team News

Barcelona Team News

Barcelona’s highly anticipated return to the newly renovated Spotify Camp Nou has been delayed, forcing them to play their first home match at the compact Estadi Johan Cruyff with its 6,000-seat capacity. This represents a significant reduction from the intended 105,000 capacity of their renovated stadium.

Hansi Flick faces several injury concerns heading into this fixture. Gavi remains sidelined with a knee injury and is facing the possibility of surgery, with Spain coach Luis de la Fuente confirming the midfielder is “sad” about his situation.

Alejandro Balde will miss the match due to a hamstring injury sustained in training, potentially ruling him out until October. Frenkie de Jong picked up a muscle injury while on international duty with the Netherlands, but is back in training, although he started doing so separately from the group.

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen continues his recovery from a back operation and remains unavailable. Raphinha, who is “drained and frustrated” after playing at high altitude during the international break for Brazil, is expected to be included in the starting XI.

Valencia Team News

Valencia has undergone multiple squad changes under Carlos Corberán. In goal, Julen Agirrezabala has arrived on loan from Athletic Club to replace Giorgi Mamardashvili, who departed for Liverpool.

José Copete signed from Mallorca to offset Mosquera’s departure to Arsenal. Baptiste Santamaría joined from Rennes in midfield and was included in the starting XI against Getafe for the first time. At the same time, Javi Guerra continues as a crucial figure in Corberán’s system. The attack has seen arrivals of Arnaut Danjuma from Villarreal, Dani Raba, and Largie Ramazani on loan from Leeds United.

Form

Barcelona

Flick’s side have collected seven points from their opening three La Liga fixtures, winning convincingly away at Mallorca (3-0) and narrowly defeating Levante (3-2), before being held to a disappointing 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano. The Catalans are currently five points behind leaders Real Madrid.

Barcelona have dominated recent encounters with Valencia, winning all three meetings last season including a memorable 7-1 victory at the Olympic Stadium. The team has not lost to Valencia since January 2020.

Valencia

Carlos Corberán’s side have earned four points from three matches, opening with a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad before suffering a 1-0 defeat at Osasuna while playing with ten men. However, they bounced back impressively with a convincing 3-0 victory over Getafe last time out, their first win of the season.

Predicted Lineups

Barcelona: Garcia; Koundé, Christensen, Garcia, Martin; Fermin, Pedri; Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Yamal; Ferran Torres

Valencia: Agirrezabala; Foulquier, Tárrega, Diakhaby, Gayà; Guerra, Santamaría; Rioja, Almeida, Danjuma; Duro

How to Watch Barcelona vs Valencia?

UK fans can watch the game on Premier Sports 1.

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