Whoever wins this leg will go on to the final and face either Athletic Bilbao or Mirandes (Bilbao won the first of their legs by a score of 2-1) and succeed Real Madrid as Spanish tournament champions.
After beating Real Madrid in the first leg of the semifinal, La Blaugrana essentially squeaked into this leg, coming within a goal of being ousted by their rivals.
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After that game they went back into league competition and drew 0-0 with Villarreal, at that time the second-to-last-placed team in La Liga and a prime candidate for relegation.
The game against Valencia won’t necessarily give Barcelona the redemption they’re looking for, but if they win it could put them a step closer to winning the one title that eluded them in the 2011 season.
That Valencia is the third-best team in La Liga ought to be a good sign for the league champions: Barcelona has consistently performed well against difficult opponents and struggled against lesser ones, Villarreal being only the latest example.
Valencia could nevertheless prove a challenge for Barcelona. They have a 6-2-2 record at the Mestalla this season, which will serve as the venue for tonight’s game. As a team they don’t score many goals but by league standards they’ve done a good job defending, allowing a total of 22 goals, tied with Sevilla for fourth-least in the league. Roberto Soldado is the team’s top scorer with 12 goals on the season, fifth in the league.
Valencia also, perhaps, has more momentum in the Copa del Rey tournament than Barcelona after thrashing Levante 7-1 on aggregate in the last round. They have allowed the fewest goals in the tournament while Barcelona has scored the most.
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