On Sunday, Valencia emerged triumphant with a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo, boosting their chances of staying in La Liga. This was a perfect comeback after their previous 7-1 defeat by Barcelona, whom they will face again in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. While their main focus is on survival in the top-flight, they also have a chance at redemption against Barcelona, who had previously defeated them 7-0 in this competition back in 2015/16. However, their history against Barcelona is not in their favour, having failed to win a single H2H match since January 2020 (D2, L8). This highlights the daunting task ahead for Carlos Corberán’s team, who are aiming to reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for the first time since 2021/22. Valencia’s home fans may have been lifted by their consecutive wins at Estadio de Mestalla, but the club has not won three competitive home games in a single season since March 2021.
On the other hand, Barcelona’s victory over Alavés with a score of 1-0 on Sunday helped them close the gap at the top of the league, especially after Real Madrid’s surprising 1-0 loss against Espanyol. Under Hansi Flick’s management, Barcelona has remained unbeaten this year (W7, D2), winning the Supercopa de España and setting their sights on another trophy in the Copa del Rey, where they hold the record for the most titles (31). However, their last Copa del Rey victory was in 2020/21. In recent times, Barcelona has shown confidence in their away games, with a nine-match unbeaten streak in competitive matches (W6, D3). It is expected that there will be many goals in this game, as Barcelona has only failed to score in one of their 19 away games this season, with eight of those games resulting in them scoring 4+ goals. This is not good news for the hosts, who have already suffered a heavy defeat against Barcelona this year.
Players to watch out for include Hugo Duro, who scored Valencia’s only goal in their 7-1 loss to Barcelona. He has scored their opener in the last three H2H matches, but unfortunately, all three ended in defeat. Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski, who scored Barcelona’s sixth goal in the 7-1 victory, has a total of six goals in the last three H2H matches and also scored the winning goal for them in their last game. Interesting fact: Valencia has scored in 28 of their last 29 home games in the Copa del Rey, with their only failure to score coming against Barcelona in 2018.
