Barcelona have owned the Copa del Rey in recent times and will look to continue that form when they go in search of a fifth consecutive win against Valencia this weekend. Los Che last lifted the Cup back in 2007/08 and after securing Champions League football by finishing fourth, they will be quietly confident that they can cause an upset at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville. Form Labs break down the action with their betting preview and tips for the game while we bring you all the value with our selection of enhanced odds in our FanBoosts section.
Barca Looking For Another Domestic Double
Barcelona had the league title wrapped up a while ago and since being knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool, their campaign has been steered towards this as they aim to complete a fourth domestic doubles in five years.
Valencia, meanwhile, got over the disappointment over being knocked out of the Europa League semi-final by winning their last two league outings to secure fourth spot in La Liga.
A piece of silverware would be just reward for the significant progress they’ve made under Marcelino over the last two years.
Dominant Copa del Rey Form
Los Che last appeared in the Cop del Rey final 11 years ago, when they beat Getafe, but in the decade since, Barcelona have dominated this competition.
They’ve featured in eight of the 10 finals, winning on six occasions, including each of the past four. In fact, only Real Madrid have downed them over this period, as they’ve prevailed on all six occasions when not facing their Clasico rivals, with five of these within 90 minutes and each by at least two clear strikes.
So, toppling Barcelona at this stage has proven a difficult task, but Valencia can point to drawing three of four league meetings with the Catalans since Marcelino and Ernesto Valverde both took the reins. Both teams scored in each as they’ve proven they have the ability cause the champions problems, whereas the three previous finalists – Sevilla, Alaves and Bilbao – all have dire records against Barca.
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Messi’s Recent Form
Valverde’s men may have taken their foot of the gas in the league in recent weeks, but the way Eibar carved out many more opportunities in their 2-2 draw at the weekend has to be of concern.
The only reason they didn’t lose was because Lionel Messi was on the pitch and again, there is going to be an even greater reliance on the Argentine delivering as Luis Suarez is definitely out, while Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele remain major doubts.
However, this is nothing Messi hasn’t had to deal with before and his two goals at Eibar means he finished the season involved in more goals (36 goals, 13 assists) than 12 La Liga teams.
What’s more, he’s scored in five of his eight Cope del Rey final appearances and has 17 goals in his last 15 appearances for the club, netting the first or last in seven of the 10 in which he has scored.
Barcelona v Valencia Betting Tips
Messi could be Barca’s only reliable match-winner on the pitch on Saturday and those absentees will only encourage Valencia to cause and upset.
However, they’re just W1-D6-L7 against the ‘Big Three’ in Spain across all competitions under Marcelino. Five of those stalemates saw both teams score though, and we think this could follow suit.
Indeed, finals are stereotypically cagey affairs, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in Spain, probably because most have involved Real Madrid and Barcelona.
14 of the last 20 Cop del Rey finals have had at least three strikes, including six of the recent eight involving Barca, while 12 saw both teams register.
Lionel Messi To Score First Or Last At 1.74
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