Barcelona are just one victory away from the league title, and they will need to make the last decisive step to rule Spain for the second time in a row. They are a point above Los Blancos, and hence, a draw against Valladolid could cost them the Spanish League trophy. As for the Pucela, they are 3 points from the bottom even though they are in 16th position, and therefore, they could fall all the way down to relegation if ever they failed to fight back against the title holders.
Barcelona – Confident, Prepared, Prudent
Barcelona are aware that achieving their task successfully this weekend will give them their one and only cup this season, and they are quite confident that they will be able to sadden Real Madrid with a triumph over Valladolid. Despite the fact that Valladolid have collected several unsatisfying results this season, Barcelona have affirmed that they will not allow their mentality to be harmed by complacency–explaining that Valladolid were also possessing a bunch of reasons to play for on the last match-day.
“They’ve got a lot at stake, hence we expect it to be a difficult game. We have to clinch it as soon as possible,” said Bojan while talking at a press conference about this weekend’s home clash.
“In this kind of encounters; you have to avoid getting stuck at 0-0 for too long. And that’s why it’s important to start well and get the support of the fans right from the beginning,” he continued.
Barca captain Carles Puyol also put an accent on the fact that the game was not going to be a simple one, stating that Valladolid could force them to suffer their first home loss in the league this season. Puyol declared that the giants needed to get in control of their euphoria and anxiety, and encouraged his boys to keep their psychological forces despite the absence of Xavi Hernandez. Also revealing how important it would be to lift the league trophy at the Camp Nou for the first time since 1998, the captain asked the fans to support in numbers in order to keep the team ready and prepared.
“It will be difficult playing against a team facing relegation … There are no easy games, this will be no stroll,” he told journalists.
“Winning is what’s important, but doing it front of our fans is a bonus. Xavi is a basic player, we all want him to play, but I am sure he’ll be replaced by a player who’ll do very well”.
Xavi Hernandez is said to miss the game due to an injury, while Andres Iniesta participated in training on Wednesday as a sign of recovery. Maxwell and Keita are also doubts for the line-up of the Azulgranas, but reserve ace Thiago Alcantara is likely to contribute in the final challenge.
Pep Guardiola vs Clemente
Barcelona’s manager Pep Guardiola has never lost a game in his career against Coach Clemente, who is now at the Valladolid professional club. Guardiola faced Clemente–then the manager of Espanyol– in the 1991-92 season for the first time as a midfielder for the Catalans, and contributions from Koeman, Txiki, Eusebio and Ferrer were what Barca needed to crush Espanyol 4-0 as they moved forward to win the league title afterward.
The second meeting arrived subsequently when Clemente became the man in charge of Betis, and on another occasion, Barcelona crushed his side 3-0 away from home as they once again advanced to steal La Liga title. In the 1999-00 season eventually, midfielder Pep Guardiola faced Manager Clement –then at Sociedad–for the third time, and luckily for the current coach of Valladolid, he was able to hold the giants to a 0-0 draw.
This weekend will be the first time that Coach Guardiola and Coach Clemente will face each other with both of them being managers, and Guardiola could continue his record by using Real Valladolid to get his second La Liga trophy since he came back to the Blaugrana. Clemente will nevertheless need to stop his opponent from reaching his goal, as a defeat for Valladolid could send the Pucela to relegation zone.
Real Valladolid – Remaining In The First Division
Valladolid can totally be ignorant about the results of the games of Xerez, Tenerife, Racing Santander, and Malaga, if ever they defeat Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Otherwise, they will have to pray and hope that these sides fail to escape relegation threat by grabbing disappointing score lines in their respective contests this weekend.
Valladolid have got 3 triumphs, 5 draws and 10 losses this season at home. Their record in away matches is somehow better, with 5 wins, 7 draws, and 7 losses. In their last 5 league games, the Pucela have won only 2 encounters, against Sporting Gijon, and Racing Santander.
They face Barcelona away on Sunday, but their recent results are yet to boost their confidence ahead of this battle. Below, we take a look at the standings at the bottom of La Liga for the 5 last-placed sides.
16. Valladolid – 36 points
17. Malaga – 36 points
18. Racing Santander – 36 points
