Barcelona play host to Valencia at Camp Nou as they aim to secure just a second Primera Division win of the season.
The Catalans have four points to their credit after three games; but the defending champions find themselves five points behind Atletico Madrid in the early running and will not want to cede any more of an advantage to Diego Simeone’s side.
On Saturday, they face a Valencia side in a state of transition after sacking Marcelino during the international break and replacing him with Albert Celades.
Can the former Spain Under-21 boss get off to an unexpected flying start against Barca?
| Game | Barcelona vs Valencia |
| Date | Saturday, September 14 |
| Time | 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
For UK readers, get your fix on the latest football on TV here! US readers can find out what soccer is on TV here!
Next Match
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| beIN Sports / beIN Sports en Espanol | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the match will be shown live on Premier Sports 2 and Premier Player HD.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Premier Sports 2 | Premier Player HD |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Barcelona squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ter Stegen, Pena |
| Defenders | Pique, Lenglet, Semedo, Junior, Alba, Todibo, Wague |
| Midfielders | Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur, Rafinha, Roberto, De Jong, Vidal, Alena |
| Forwards | Griezmann, Perez, Fati, Suarez |
Barcelona starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Arthur, Busquets, De Jong; Griezmann, Fati, Perez.
| Position | Valencia squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Cillessen, Domenech |
| Defenders | Garay, Gabriel, Gaya, Costa, Diakhaby |
| Midfielders | Wass, Torres, Parejo, Kondogbia, Lee, Coquelin, Cheryshev |
| Forwards | Guedes, Rodrigo, Gameiro, Gomez |
Valencia starting XI: Cillessen, Garay, Paulista, Gaya, Wass, Parejo, Coquelin, Ferran, Guedes, Gameiro, Rodrigo.
Betting & Match Odds
Barcelona are strong 4/9 favourites to win this match with bet365 . Valencia are 6/1 outsiders, while a draw is on offer at 15/4.
Match Preview
Getty Images
Defending Primera Division champions Barcelona host Valencia at Camp Nou on Saturday with the intention on getting their campaign back on track.
Missing key man Lionel Messi for their opening matches of the campaign, the Catalans have earned just four points to date and will again be without the Argentine for the visit of a side locked together with them on four points in the standings.
But rather than talk of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s absence, head coach Ernesto Valverde is keen for others to take responsibility in the meantime.
“While it's true that we notice Messi's absence, it's true that it can be an opportunity for other players to take a step forward,” he said, putting a positive spin on the Catalans’ current position.
Barca face a quick turnaround after this match, with their Champions League campaign starting on Tuesday with a match against Borussia Dortmund, with the packed fixture list set to put an additional strain on the team, which is already hampered by further injuries to Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele.
And while Valencia have changed coach over the international break, Valverde does not forecast too many surprises from the guests.
“It's only been a couple of days so I don't think there will have been much time to change a lot,” he said of Albert Celades’ side.
“They come from a period of good results and they'll come with a similar line-up.
“They have a classic 4-4-2 and play well on the counter-attack, as we saw in the Copa del Rey final.”
Indeed, even Messi was not enough to save Barca from defeat in that showpiece match little over three months ago, with goals from Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo giving Valencia a shock 2-1 victory.
It is a blueprint they will try to repeat at Camp Nou as Celades seeks to get off to a perfect start.
“We don’t want to break what was here – we want to take advantage of the good things that have been done,” the Barcelona-born coach assured ahead of his dugout debut in the Primera Division against his hometown team.
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