Barcelona will be facing Real Valladolid in a midweek league fixture, with the latter in serious danger of being relegated. After being promoted to La Liga, Valladolid is now tied on points with Getafe and just one ahead of Espanyol, with two of those three teams being the most likely candidates to be relegated along with Elche. Barça, on the other hand, has already achieved what they had set out to do, winning their 27th league title in club history.
Barça’s Form Against Valladolid
Barcelona has only lost one of their last nine games away to Valladolid, with the sole defeat coming in 2013/14 when Tata Martino was manager. Since then, Barça has always won when they have visited the Estadio José Zorrilla. Barça’s form at home against Valladolid has been even more emphatic, including the reverse fixture earlier this season, when Barça romped to a 4-0 victory at Spotify Camp Nou with goals from Lewandowski (2), Pedri, and Sergi Roberto.
Xavi’s Thoughts on the Game
Xavi, the manager of Barcelona, has stated that he intends to put out the best team possible to get a good result. He also mentioned that the team wants to end the season on a high note, despite already winning the league title. Xavi has not opted to bring in too many reserve and youth players, with just Marc Casadó, Pablo Torre, and Arnau Tenas getting the nod for this one.
Barcelona will be missing Pedri and Ronald Araujo for the game, as well as defender Jules Kounde, who has been ruled out with muscle fatigue. Xavi has also mentioned that he would like Ter Stegen to win the Zamora and Robert Lewandowski to be the Pichichi, and the team needs to help them achieve that. Despite the rivalry between Barcelona and Espanyol, Xavi has stated that the team always plays to win and has their prestige and image to think about.
Keywords: Barcelona, Real Valladolid, La Liga, Xavi, Pedri, Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Ter Stegen, Zamora, Robert Lewandowski, Pichichi, rivalry, relegation.
