Live Blog: Valencia vs Barcelona LIVE: Score, goals and LaLiga updates
Valencia's lineup vs Barcelona
Barcelona visits Valencia at Mestalla on Sunday with an opportunity to strengthen its position at the top of LaLiga and open a three-point gap over Real Madrid following its rival's defeat to Betis on Friday.
📅 Sunday
⏰ 10:15 AM ET
🏟️ Mestalla
Barcelona enters the match as league leader and will be looking for a fourth consecutive victory to start the campaign. Valencia, meanwhile, sits 17th after a difficult opening three matches.
Valencia vs Barcelona LIVE: Barça can pull away from Real Madrid
Real Madrid's defeat to Betis has presented Barcelona with its first opportunity to create some separation at the top of the standings.
A victory at Mestalla would move Barça three points clear of Real Madrid and strengthen its position as outright leader.
Barcelona has won its opening three league matches and will now look to maintain its perfect start in what promises to be a challenging atmosphere at Mestalla.
Valencia has collected just one point and scored one goal through its first three matches. Its latest outing ended in a painful defeat against Deportivo at Riazor, where Valencia also scored two own goals.
Protests expected at Mestalla
The match comes at a particularly tense moment around Valencia.
Supporters have already expressed their frustration during the club's first two matches at Mestalla, with head coach Carlos Corberán among the targets of their discontent.
The team's poor start, a controversial end to the transfer window and comments from director general of football Ron Gourlay have added to the tension.
Several Valencia supporter groups have called on fans to enter Mestalla starting in the 19th minute as a protest against the club's board and majority shareholder Peter Lim.
Valencia's absences against Barcelona
Carlos Corberán will have several players unavailable for the visit of the league leaders.
Guido Rodríguez, Justin de Haas, Sadiq Umar, Luis Rioja, José Copete and Diego López are all unavailable, with Dimitri Foulquier also ruled out at the last minute.
Corberán must also decide whether to use a five-man defense or switch to a back four.
One new option will be Harvey Elliott, the English attacking midfielder on loan from Liverpool.
While Barcelona has enjoyed strong results against Valencia in recent years, the hosts can take confidence from their most recent LaLiga meeting: Valencia defeated Barça 3-1 on the final matchday of last season.
