Preview: Valencia – Barcelona, Saturday 4pmEST, GolTV

By: Isaiah | April 24th, 2009

This is going to be brief and to the point: Valencia, you’re next. Okay, not that short. It’s not like Valencia isn’t a good team whose players are currently being given monetary compensation for their time on the field or anything. That couldn’t happen in the Spanish Primera.

Hmm.

Valencia is, actually, a very good team on quite a roll (5 wins in a row). They’re 4th in the league, below nose-diving Sevilla by 2 points. However, they haven’t played a team quite like the Blaugrana since, uh, since the last time they played us. And that didn’t end so hot for them. Hopefully there is a repeat performance.

And this time we’ll have Messi back, so the attacking impetus isn’t entirely on Iniesta anymore. Maybe that’s not so great, seeing as Iniesta is playing so well, but adding Messi can’t possibly be detrimental to a team, right? That’s my thinking, anyway. So, we increase our attacking capabilities as well as our ball-retention by replacing Keita with Messi and moving Iniesta to the left again. Even if Iniesta is better on the right than on the left, I think Messi is even better on the right (who would have guess 4 months ago we’d be having that conversation?) than anyone else.

Here’s our squad list: Valdés, Jorquera, Alves, Abidal, Puyol, Márquez, Piqué, Xavi, Iniesta, Keita, Gudjohnsen, Touré, Busquets, Henry, Etòo, Messi, Hleb, Bojan

And from that, my lineup: Valdés, Alves, Puyol, Piqué, Abidal, The Yaya, Xavi, Iniesta, Henry, Eto’o, Messi.

I recognize that this is our “strongest” lineup and that we need this lineup against Chelsea and then RM, but, well, this is our chance to win the league. Right here, right now. So let’s do it. Sure, okay, yeah, putting Keita out there is a good idea too, but for Iniesta? Maybe. Xavi still seems instrumental, but so does everyone else. I don’t know where that leaves us, but that’s my lineup and I’m going with it.

Valencia, of course, are a serious team with serious players. Villa and Silva are the names that jump out at me, naturally, so let’s consider them the Danger Men. Feel free to throw Mata in there, too, if you’d like. They’re missing Joaquin, Albelda, and Fernandes, so that weakens them in their midfield, where they will be most vulnerable. Cut off the supply (by controlling the ball itself) and Villa and Silva will get frustrated. Sure, they’re probably more clinical than Jesus Navas (how did he miss that!?), but if we can keep them from getting those chances (Puyol in the middle will marshal Pique better than Marquez, I think, though you can come up with plenty of evidence to the contrary).

So, this mini preview is over. Official Prediction: 3-1, Barça, goals by Messi (2) and Eto’o. Villa will nab one as well to keep up the image of wannabe Pichichi.

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