Barcelona must use the euphoria of its exciting victory over Benfica in the Champions League to stop a series of miserable performances in the Spanish Premier League against an improved Valencia team on Sunday. The Catalan giants have managed just one win in their last eight league matches, falling seven points behind champions and current leaders Real Madrid. Valencia visit the Olimpico following an impressive 1-0 win at home to Real Sociedad last weekend, with the team already looking stronger under new coach Carlos Corberan.
The former West Bromwich Albion boss was appointed on Christmas Day, and his side came close to taking points from Real Madrid after a narrow 2-1 defeat in his first game in charge.
Los Che also won two cup matches in January to reach the quarter-finals, where they will also face Barcelona.
Their victory over Real Sociedad helped them rise from the bottom of the standings to 19th place, four points behind the safety zone.
Corberan and his teammates face a Barcelona team that has scored five goals in three of its last four matches, but their only league match in that period ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw with Getafe last Saturday.
Valencia will take into account how Madrid’s low block defense made Hansi Flick’s side so difficult to break down and will likely follow suit.
Flick said that his team also had to work on defensive errors against Benfica before facing Valencia.
The German coach said: “It is important that we talk about this, because the next opponents will look at this match and we have to make it better, and we will do that.”
“We will practice this, if possible, or we can (discuss it) in the meeting, we can do some technical things.
“We analyze everything and we will show (the players) what we need to do better.”
Robert Lewandowski, La Liga’s top scorer, scored twice in midweek from the penalty spot, but has only produced one goal in his last five league games.
Getafe also managed to keep Barcelona’s young star Lamine Yamal quiet, something few other teams have been able to do this season.
Corberan called on his Valencia team to continue improving before the trip to Barcelona.
“We have to continue to grow, and I will get the most out of every match we play,” the Valencia coach said.
“I’m not here to say we have to grow into it, it’s the reality of football.
He added: “The team is growing in character, dedication and commitment and it is very important to reinforce that.”
Valencia have only been relegated once in the club’s history, in 1986, and were promoted the following year.
Their improvement under Corberan will be confirmed if they can take a single point away from title contenders Barcelona, something which could prove vital at the end of the season.
Player to watch: Julian Alvarez The former Manchester City striker has recently reached the top of his game for Atletico Madrid, scoring twice to give them a vital Champions League win against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek. He and Antoine Griezmann form a strong partnership up front that strengthens their title bid, which continues with the visit of high-flying Villarreal on Saturday.
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