Valencia seek first LaLiga win as Barcelona arrive at Mestalla

Valencia will look to end a difficult opening to the LaLiga season when they host FC Barcelona at Estadio de Mestalla on matchday four, with the visitors arriving after a flying start to their campaign.

Los Che have not won any of their matches so far, while Barcelona have made a much more impressive beginning to the Spanish championship. The fixture is one of the historic meetings in Spanish football and will take place at Valencia’s home ground.

The following are the expected line-ups for the match.

Valencia team news

Valencia’s attacking options have been weakened by an injury to Umar Sadiq, who is the club’s only goalscorer in LaLiga this season. The striker suffered a hamstring problem during the match against Deportivo La Coruna and will miss the meeting with Barcelona.

Sadiq joins an already crowded injury list. Justin de Haas, Sergi Canos and Diego Lopez are also unavailable for the fixture, leaving Valencia with further absences as they attempt to claim their first league victory.

The likely Valencia line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Stole Dimitrievski

Defenders: Pablo Maffeo, Cesar Tarrega, Arnau Martinez, Mouctar Diakhaby, Jesus Vazquez

Midfielders: Ryunosuke Sato, Filip Ugrinic, Pepelu, Harvey Elliott

Striker: Arnaut Danjuma

With Sadiq ruled out, Arnaut Danjuma is expected to lead the line. Valencia will hope the attacking players behind him can provide the threat required against a Barcelona side that has started the season in strong form.

Barcelona team news

Barcelona have no new last-minute absences to report before travelling to Mestalla. However, the Catalan club will still be without young signing Jesse Bisiwu, who suffered a serious injury while playing for the Under-19s.

Roony Bardghji and Frenkie de Jong also remain sidelined with injuries and will not be part of the squad for this fixture. Despite those absences, Barcelona are expected to field a strong side as they continue their early-season campaign.

The likely Barcelona line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Joan Garcia

Defenders: Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Joao Cancelo

Midfielders: Pedri, Rodri, Fermin Lopez

Forwards: Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Anthony Gordon

Barcelona’s starting XI includes a blend of established attacking talent and younger players, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha expected to provide width and creativity in the final third.

The match will be Valencia’s fourth LaLiga fixture of the season and is scheduled to take place shortly. It offers Barcelona another opportunity to maintain their positive momentum, while Valencia will be under pressure to change the direction of their campaign.

According to the listed 1xBet prices, Valencia are rated at 9.00 to win, the draw is priced at 6.00 and Barcelona are the clear favourites at 1.30.