Are the Blaugrana wide awake again in the Spanish north?

While FC Barcelona have already celebrated the championship extensively and suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Real Sociedad at the weekend with a proper hangover, Real Valladolid slipped back below the line with five defeats in a row on the last matchday.

The Blanquivioletas need a turnaround against the La Liga leaders, of all teams. The Blanquivioletas need a turnaround against the La Liga leaders, but there is not much to suggest that Valladolid will win against Barcelona.

Not only have Real Valladolid lost all of their last five league games by 4-14 goals, but the Blanquivioletas have also lost 15 of their last 16 meetings with FC Barcelona. In six of the last seven defeats, the team from Castilla y León did not even manage to score a goal. The prediction for Valladolid against Barcelona is therefore clearly in favour of the Catalans.

It has to be said that Barca have nothing left to play for, which could lead to a lack of concentration. Ultimately, though, with only 15 goals conceded from 35 league games, the Catalans bring by far the best defence in La Liga to the Estadio José Zorrilla, where Valladolid have lost seven of their 17 home La Liga games. The Blanquivioletas’ biggest shortcoming has been their lack of penetrative power. The only 30 goals from 35 league games correspond to the third weakest offensive in La Liga.

It is therefore a good bet that Barca’s defence will make the difference and that only one team will score in this match. That also includes a possible goalless draw.

Valladolid – Statistics & current form

Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, owned since 2018 by none other than the legendary Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, returned to Spain’s top flight in the summer as runners-up in La Liga 2.

Here, the team from Castilla y León should re-establish itself in the first step. For a long time, everything looked as if staying in the league was just a formality. In the meantime, however, the Blanquivioletas have returned to the bottom of the league.

Averaging just 0.88 points under Paulo Pezzolano

The reason for this was a new slump, in which five consecutive league games were all lost with 4:14 goals. This was also surprising in that there had initially been an upward trend under coach Paulo Pezzolano, who was hired at the beginning of April.

With seven points out of a possible nine from the first three league games, the Uruguayan initially found himself excellently at Valladolid as coach. Five defeats later, however, his points average of just 0.88 no longer reads good at all. Accordingly, the situation in the Spanish north is precarious again.

The third weakest offence in La Liga

While the total of ten goals scored from the eight competitive games under Pezzolano was positive. In the 27 league games before that, the Blanquivioletas only managed a total of 20 goals. However, the fact that the recent quality of their finishing has clearly been at the expense of their defence (18 goals conceded in the last eight league games) cannot be the solution, especially as the combined total of 30 goals from 35 league games is the third worst in La Liga.

The odds are therefore clearly against Valladolid against Barcelona, who have also lost all of their last seven league games against the Blaugrana with 1:16 goals.

Barcelona – Statistics & current form

Although FC Barcelona disappointed in the UEFA Champions League for the second successive year, they subsequently failed again in the group stage of the Europa League and also missed out on a place in the Copa del Rey final despite a 1-0 away win in the first leg against arch-rivals Real Madrid.

At least in La Liga, however, the Blaugrana were the measure of things again for the first time and ultimately celebrated a fairly commanding start-to-finish victory. Only between the third and twelfth matchday did Real Madrid top the table a total of eight times. Since matchday 13, however, Barca have not been able to escape the sunny side of the table.

Shortly after the championship celebration, the strong home series broke

Of all things, a 4-2 away win in the derby against city rivals Espanyol Barcelona then gave the Catalans the early win of the Spanish championship. It is the first triumph for the Blaugrana since the 2018/19 season.

The celebrations last week were correspondingly strong, which also promptly brought the team, which until then had been completely untouchable at home, its first home defeat of the current season on Saturday. After 17 home games with 45 out of a possible 51 points and 33:2 goals, they suffered an unexpected 1:2 defeat against Real Sociedad.

The best defence in La Liga

The Catalans can certainly get over this defeat. However, it is clear that the newly crowned champions still want to say goodbye to the championship season with dignity. We expect Barca to be correspondingly focused in the away game at the relegation-threatened Blanquivioletas.

There is a lot to be said for a three-goal win for the Blaugrana against Barcelona in Valladolid, even though the Xavi team, with all the quality in its squad and a constant focus on its defensive work, has sometimes struggled to score goals and has celebrated numerous minimalist 1-0 victories, but has also sometimes “only” played 0-0. Accordingly, it makes sense to bet on a maximum of one team scoring, which also covers eventualities such as a goalless draw.

Valladolid – Barcelona Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

Head to head: 16 – 16 – 65

There have been 97 meetings between the two teams so far and with 65 wins, FC Barcelona lead the direct comparison very clearly. The Blaugrana have also recently won 15 of their last 16 competitive matches against Valladolid (one defeat), winning six of their last seven games without conceding a goal.

Valladolid – Barcelona betting tips

The prediction for Valladolid against Barcelona goes clearly in the direction of the Blaugrana, who have the best defence in La Liga against the third weakest attack. In the last four encounters between the two teams, the Catalans have always celebrated a win against the Blanquivioletas, who, after five defeats in a row, have their backs to the wall and are acutely threatened with relegation. The hosts’ only trump card is that Barca have nothing left to play for.

Although the visitors might be lacking a percentage point or two, we still don’t believe that the Barca defence, which is so secure on the whole, will allow itself to be undermined by the Blanquivioletas’ poor finishing. Accordingly, the bet on a maximum of one team scoring is consistent