Barcelona are not in a good moment. Wednesday’s defeat to Royal Antwerp made it back-to-back losses for the Catalans, who have lost four of their last nine matches in all competitions – their performances during this run have also been very poor.
Xavi Hernandez is under intense pressure because of this, but he will be hoping for a reaction when they take on Valencia at the Mestalla on Saturday. Sport say that significant changes will be made from the side that lined up against Girona last weekend (a weakened line-up was put out against Antwerp).
Joao Cancelo is expected to return to right-back, which would imply that Alejandro Balde will start at left-back, having been benched for the last few La Liga matches. Ronald Araujo will start in central defence, with either Jules Kounde or Andreas Christensen as his partner.
In attack, Joao Felix could be benched in favour of Ferran Torres, who scored against Antwerp. Lamine Yamal, who set up that goal, has an excellent chance of lining up on the right wing.
Not only do Barcelona require three points against Valencia, a good performance is also needed to get the critics off their back. Whether they can achieve both remains to be seen.