Skip to main content

Barcelona will aim to complete a league and cup double when they face Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday evening.

Ernesto Valverde's men have an outstanding record in this competition, their 30 wins being the most in its history, and they could become the first team to win it five times in a row with victory at Estadio Benito Villamarin. 

fbl-esp-liga-barcelona-levante-5ce54a5f4cbf06fe37000003.jpg

Standing in their way is a Valencia team they finished 16 points ahead of this season but failed to beat during the league campaign, both games ending in stalemate.

Valencia only lost seven games in the league on the way to a fourth placed finish, and were Europa League semi finalists before exiting the competition at the hands of Arsenal.

Victory on Saturday will give Los Ches their eighth Copa del Rey and their first in 11 years.

Where to Watch

When Is Kick Off?

Saturday 25 May

What Time Is Kick Off?

20:00 (BST)

Where Is it Played?

Estadio Benito Villamarin

TV Channel/Live Stream?

N/A

Referee?

Alberto Undiano Mallenco

Team News

Rafinha is a long term absentee for Barcelona, having ruptured his cruciate ligament last November.

Ousmane Dembele, Arthur, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Philippe Coutinho all missed the last La Liga fixture of the season with various injuries but each have a chance of making Saturday's match.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen has discomfort in his right knee and has been ruled out, as has Luis Suarez, who is aiming for pre-season to make his return from a torn meniscus.

fbl-eur-c3-valencia-arsenal-5ce54ad94cbf0677bd000001.jpg

Marcelino, Garcia Toral is without Lee Kang-in, who has been called up to the South Korea national team, while Ezequiel Garay missed the last match with a hamstring strain and is doubtful for this fixture.

Winger Denis Cheryshev has been out since April, with a stretched ligament, and will not be fit until next month.

Predicted Lineups

Barcelona

Cillessen; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, Vidal, Rakitic; Malcom, Messi, Coutinho.

Valencia

Domenech; Wass, Diakhaby, Paulista, Gaya; Soler, Parejo, Coquelin, Guedes; Rodrigo, Mina. 

Head to Head Record

Both games in the regular season were drawn. Barcelona were 2-0 down but fired back to gain a point when these two met at Camp Nou in February.

Four months earlier, Ezequiel Garay put Valencia ahead but Lionel Messi equalised and the match ended 1-1.

In 2017/18, there were four matches between the sides, with Barcelona coming out unbeaten - winning three of those games.

Valencia are without a win against Barcelona since a 2-1 triumph at Camp Nou in April 2016. In total, Barcelona have 32 victories over Els Taronges, they have lost to them 14 times and they have shared the spoils on 18 occasions.

Recent Form

The La Liga champions are on a decent run at the moment, minus their capitulation against Liverpool in the semi final of the Champions League.

fbl-esp-liga-valencia-alaves-5ce5e80ce2db37105a000001.jpg

They won the title a month ago and ended up finishing 11 points ahead of Atletico Madrid, but have taken their foot off the gas since securing La Liga for the 26th time.

Their opponents finished 2018/19 strongly, winning their last two fixtures, and qualifying for Europe's premier competition next season.

Here's how each side has fared in their last five games.

Barcelona

Valencia

Eibar 2-2 Barcelona (19/5)

Valladolid 0-2 Valencia (18/5)

Barcelona 2-0 Getafe (12/5)

Valencia 3-1 Alaves (12/5)

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona (7/5)

Valencia 2-4 Arsenal (9/5)

Celta Vigo 2-0 Barcelona (4/5)

Huesca 2-6 Valencia (5/5)

Barcelona 3-0 Liverpool (1/5)

Arsenal 3-1 Valencia (2/5)

Prediction

They may have fallen short in Europe but Barcelona are formidable when it comes to domestic matters, and they are strong favorites to lift the Copa del Rey trophy. However, they have found Valencia difficult opponents recently.

If they want to win, Valencia must shackle Lionel Messi and take their chances when they arrive - Barcelona are not as strong at the back as they used to be.

fbl-esp-liga-barcelona-getafe-5ce5f254e2db3769ed000001.jpg

This will be a tight contest, Barcelona should have enough to edge it and end the season on a high.

Prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Valencia