Three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Valencia | La Liga MD4 | OneFootball

Barcelona return to action after the international break tomorrow, and it will be a difficult test for the club as they take on Valencia at home.

Having started off their campaign with two wins in La Liga, Barcelona faced a roadblock against Rayo Vallecano, where they failed to collect all three points.

The pressure, thus, is now on Hansi Flick and Co. to get back to winning ways, and more importantly, return to playing free-flowing football as they did throughout last season across all competitions.

Barca Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Valencia.

Getting back to winning ways

After two shaky wins in La Liga, Barcelona failed to take three points in their final game before the international break. It was indeed their third consecutive game on the road, but the fact that they dropped points was crucial.

Returning from the international break, the pressure is on them to get back to winning ways, whatever the cost, especially given the run of form of rivals.

While Barcelona are at a reasonable seven points after three games, Real Madrid have been on fire and entered the international break three points clear of the Catalans.

Playing on Saturday, they made it four wins in as many games, and it is clear that they are showing no signs of stopping early in the season. Maintaining a small gap with them, thus, is in Barcelona’s best interests.

The game against Valencia thus turns into a virtual must-win game for Hansi Flick and Co., for anything less than such a result will broaden the gap with Real Madrid to at least four points. A win is crucial, and the rejuvenated team will look to get off on the right foot.

A second home away from home

Barcelona to host Valencia at Estadi Johan Cruyff. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

The game against Valencia on Sunday was supposed to be Barcelona’s first game at the new Spotify Camp Nou, and a lot was said about the venue’s return for the team’s league clashes this season.

Not for the first time, however, the Blaugrana have been forced to postpone the return and will not get back to the Spotify Camp Nou tomorrow. Instead, the game will take place at a temporary foster home – Estadi Johan Cruyff.

Joan Laporta and Co. failed to get the required permits to host the game against Los Che this week at Camp Nou, and the formalities will drag on later into the month.

Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, meanwhile, hosted a massive music concert in recent days and is thus not ready to host a game on short notice.

The Catalans, thus, will play at the miniature Estadi Johan Cruyff tomorrow night – a second home away from home after the venue at Montjuic.

It remains uncertain when the team can indeed make the much-awaited return home, but playing at such a small venue tomorrow is undoubtedly a major blow for Hansi Flick and Co.

The big absentees

The international break has been rough for Barcelona in many ways, primarily in terms of the injuries suffered by key players across different national team camps.

For starters, Frenkie de Jong is ruled out of tomorrow’s clash against Valencia owing to a fitness setback, and the manager must thus look to deploy a new double-pivot combination on the night.

With Gavi also ruled out, all signs point to Pedri and Marc Casado starting against Valencia as the double-pivot, and the combination has had reasonable success in the past that Flick can bank on.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Balde is also unavailable. But the bigger blow, undoubtedly, is the injury suffered by Lamine Yamal that has ruled him out of the game and made his availability for the UEFA Champions League opener against Newcastle United a major doubt.

Replacing the Ballon d’Or favourite and his impact on the field is near impossible, and Flick will have his work cut out to ensure the team’s attacking output does not diminish in his absence.

Whether he places Raphinha on the right wing and starts Marcus Rashford on the left wing, or he hands Roony Bardghji a starting debut down the right flank, remains to be seen, for it will decide a major part of the result for Barcelona.