La Liga. Trouble Brewing In Barcelona?

La Liga. Trouble Brewing In Barcelona?

Barcelona vs Real Valladolid

Barcelona are starting to look shaky and only a win against Real Valladolid this weekend can restore order and ease the growing concerns in Camp Nou.

Winless in their last three games in all competitions, Barcelona and their supporters have every reason to worry. The team is now only six points ahead of Real Madrid, who are peaking at the right time and recently climbed to second with a win in the Madrid derby.

It doesn’t help that Los Blancos are expected to extend their La Liga winning run against 17th-placed Girona, putting more pressure on Ernesto Valverde and Co. to deliver results.

Valladolid will smell blood when they visit, and they will hope for the best this time after making life hard for Barcelona in their first encounter this season.

Talking Points

Injuries, poor form hurting Barca

Barcelona have drawn their last three games, the latest a surprising goalless stalemate against Athletic Bilbao at the Basque Country.

While it’s still premature to panic and point fingers, their recent performances did raise plenty of issues.

First and foremost is the impact of injuries to their top players. In their showdown with Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona lacked creativity in the absence of injured midfielder Arthur Melo.

Arthur is a key cog in the Barcelona midfield, as his ability to receive the ball virtually anywhere—even in tight angles—allows the team to distribute and pass more effectively. Nonetheless, ball movement was scarce the last time out, leaving Barca with only a few attacking opportunities.

Furthermore, Lionel Messi is coming off a thigh injury. He was reportedly not yet 100 percent healthy ahead of their visit to San Mames, and it was evident as he struggled mightily and failed to score despite a few moments of brilliance.

Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho appear out of sorts as well, and their poor conditions are hurting the Catalans big time.

Suarez was ineffective in their recent fixtures, giving the ball up in plenty of occasions. He seems to have lost that killer instinct in front of the goal as well, proven by his failure to register a shot on target versus Bilbao.

Coutinho is in a far worse situation. Valverde and the whole squad thought he would gain more confidence after scoring twice in their 6-1 Copa del Rey drubbing of Sevilla, but that hasn’t been the case as the Brazilian offered little when it comes to speed and playmaking.

Ousmane Dembele’s return to full health and Samuel Umtiti’s recovery should give Barca a massive boost, but Valverde undoubtedly needs to make changes to his squad to spark a much-needed turnaround.

Looking back at August

If it’s all about current form, 15th-ranked Valladolid are no different from Barcelona. After all, they have only one win in their last 10 matches, including a 4-0 defeat at the hands of bottom club Huesca.

However, Valladolid know how to make life hard for Barca, and they will remember their first meeting this season back in August. In that game, Valladolid lost at home 0-1, but they would have gotten one point had the VAR not ruled out Keko’s diving header for offside.

They fought brilliantly back then, and they will be confident that they can replicate a similar performance this time around.

Valladolid’s main problem, though, is their lack of options on the offensive end. None of their players has scored more than five goals, with Oscar Plano and Enes Unal being their best scorers with a measly three goals each.

History

Prior to this season, the two teams last met in the 2013-14 campaign. Interestingly, during that season, Valladolid managed to win the home fixture against Barcelona 1-0.

In their last 10 meetings overall, however, Barca won nine times. The Catalans averaged almost three goals per game during that, all while managing to keep five clean sheets.

Barca’s best performance against Valladolid over the past decade is perhaps their 6-0 victory at Camp Nou, with African legend Samuel Eto’o bagging four goals. Such a result this time will certainly grab the La Liga 2019 news and headlines!

Betting Tip

Barcelona Correct Score 1-0 @ 9.25

Despite their recent struggles, the La Liga 2019 odds at SBOBET still point to a dominant Barca win.

It’s hard to bet against Barcelona in any given day, considering the quality they have in all departments (at least on paper). Nevertheless, with the current form of the two and considering their latest meeting, I don’t think it will be a one-sided affair.

How about a bet on a repeat of their first encounter this season?

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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