Valencia vs Barcelona Prediction 16.12.2023

• Competition: Spain - LaLiga
• Date: Saturday, 16th, December 2023
• Kickoff: 20:00 UTC / 21.00 CET
• Venue: Estadio de Mestalla (Valencia)

After the humiliation in the Catalan derby against Girona, Barcelona will urgently want to erase that stain as they face Valencia at Estadio Mestalla on matchday 17 of the Spanish LaLiga this Saturday.

Valencia has pleasantly surprised everyone at the start of the 2023-24 Spanish top-flight campaign, suggesting that those at Mestalla might finally be moving in the right direction after four lean seasons, during which their best finish position was ninth, narrowly escaping LaLiga relegation last season. Yet, as the season unfolds, the vigor of Los Che's upward momentum is diminishing, and a couple of lackluster displays in recent times have pushed them away from European contention, sitting at 11th place with a modest 19 points from 16 rounds ahead of Saturday's showdown.

Meanwhile, Barcelona returns to domestic duties after concluding the Champions League group stage, despite "gifting" Royal Antwerp the first three points in a shocking 2-3 defeat, sitting atop their section, level on points with Porto. Taking into account that last season the Catalan giant clinched the silverware in LaLiga with a team that, on paper, seemed less powerful, we can confidently state that they have been quite disappointing in the current campaign until this point. Furthermore, their title defense is heading in the completely wrong direction, as evidenced by the seven-point gap behind fellow Catalan side Girona, who comfortably sits atop the table.

Valencia vs Barcelona Betting Tips: BTTS

With a look of disappointment on his face, Xavi faces the urgent task of awakening his chosen ones, as otherwise, due to a seven-point deficit behind leader Girona and five from Real Madrid, they might early on bid farewell to the battle for the championship trophy. The cornerstone of last year's championship journey, the defensive sector has now become a weak link for the Catalan gigant, contributing to the loss of crucial points in the ongoing LaLiga competition. The defensive solidity of Barcelona's backline has taken a serious hit, evident in the alarming 18 goals conceded across 16 Spanish top-flight matches, merely two fewer than the entire previous campaign. 

The injury to the first-choice goalkeeper, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who masterfully preserved a clean sheet in 26 out of 38 rounds last season, has added to Barcelona's goal susceptibility, as his understudy Inaki Pena found himself retrieving the ball from the back of the net a staggering seven times in consecutive shocking losses to Girona 2-4 and Antwerp 2-3. Similar to Saturday's visitors, Valencia is also experiencing a sharp decline in form in recent weeks, entering Round 17 of LaLiga with three defeats in the last four matches and only one collected point during that period.

After two failures in a row, Ruben Baraja's chosen ones happily return to the Mestalla, a field where they presented themselves in a much better light this term than outside it, with the hope of repeating the success from earlier this season when they sank Atletico Madrid 3-0. Taking into account that the Catalans have struggled to preserve two clean sheets in their last 10 matches across all competitions, we strongly believe that Los Che can capitalize on the defensive weaknesses of the visiting side and make an impact on the scoreboard.