Valencia could pose a real threat to Barcelona’s winning run as they have started to find form in recent matches with four wins in the last five matches and the loss to Getafe ultimately didn’t matter as they won on aggregate. This form has seen them shoot up to seventh place in the league. Their main issue has been scoring goals because they have the joint-second best defence in the league, but they have drawn 11 matches.
Ernesto Valverde was required to play his full strength XI in the midweek Copa del Rey tie against Sevilla, so rotations should be expected for this match. Keeping key players has been the priority during January and Valverde has managed to achieve this while qualifying for the Copa del Rey semi-finals as well as winning every league match so it was a hugely successful month. The benefits will be seen in the coming months, though, when they play in the Champions League knockout stages.
Expected Starting XI (4-3-3)
Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba
Arturo Vidal, Sergio Busquets, Arthur Melo
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho
Sergi Roberto put in a good performance against Sevilla and he scored the important fourth goal which took the match out of their hands, but his positioning was slack for Sevilla’s goal even though it was a good strike. Semedo has performed well when called upon so bringing him back in should keep up the strong competition for the right-back slot and the Portuguese full-back is better equipped to deal with Denis Cheryshev. Aside from that, the defence should be unchanged.
Ivan Rakitic has started the last three matches so he needs a rest and Vidal can come in to replace him. Starting Carles Alena over Arthur would be a risk due to how he likes to play in advanced areas which could leave Busquets exposed. Therefore, he’s most likely going to be limited to a substitute role
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