Barcelona – Remaining cautious
Barcelona will be going into this game with the opportunity of temporary extending their lead at the top of the league table to 8 points, as Real Madrid come up against Malaga on January 24.
The Spanish champions currently lead the standings with 46 points – 5 points ahead of Los Blancos – as the gap between them and their rivals was widened at the weekend subsequent to Real Madrid’s failure to grab a win in their match against Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona, in their home, scored 4 goals past Sevilla, in a game where all their superiority was highlighted. This weekend’s game should normally be an ordinary one for them, due to the fact that their opponents somehow seem harmless.
Although confidence might be Barca’s main weapon against Valladolid, the players will want to remain cautious with the intention of putting a stop to any shock that would want to hit them. The lossless Blaugrana missed most of their points in away matches, following 3 away draws against a single home draw.
They undoubtedly wouldn’t want to lose their devastating form through an unsatisfying result at the Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla, for being unsuccessful to get a win on Saturday could help archrivals Real Madrid to get closer to the title.
Lionel Messi was the scorer of 2 late goals at the Camp Nou against his club’s counterparts from Andalusia last Saturday, and he is now the youngest player to have scored 100 goals for the Catalans in history. His hunger for goals is getting deeper, and there is no way under-estimating “tiny” adversaries will be an option for him.
Captain Carlos Puyol however obtained an injury in his side’s triumph over Sevilla, and his presence among the starting line-up of Barcelona ahead of their game against Valladolid is therefore doubtful. Moreover, in addition to Barcelona’s minor defensive problem, they will also have to deal with a few front issues, as their striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is presently struggling to be at his full best.
The Swedish forward couldn’t get his name on the scoring sheet for Barcelona in his team’s last 7 matches, and this is a negative record the striker will look to break on Saturday evening against Valladolid.
Valladolid – Reaching at least the 14th place?
On their side, Valladolid have a lot to think about. They are just a place above relegation with 17 points, but they need to gather more points faster if ever they aim to keep their place in the Primera Liga.
The struggling side were only able to take 10 points out of 27 in their home games this season; thus, winning in their own stadium over the league leaders will be a must for them.
A victory this weekend could let them climb to the 14th place, but the fact is that not only will such a reward depend on the results of the encounters of Espanyol, Almeria, and Malaga; but also will it depend on the goal margin of their game against Barcelona.
Valladolid have not won a single match this year, so it is quite obvious that snatching 3 points out of the hands of the defending La Liga champions will mean a lot for them in terms of psychology, as well as in terms of mathematics.
