Valencia CF (18th, 1pt) vs FC Barcelona (1st, 9pts)
Competition/Round: 2026-27 La Liga, Matchday 4
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Roony Bardghji, Frenkie de Jong (out), Lamine Yamal (doubt)
Valencia Outs & Doubts: Umar Sadiq, Sergi Canós, Diego López, Justin De Haas, Guido Rodríguez (out), José Copete, Luis Rioja, Kayne van Oevelen, Dimitri Foulquier (doubt)
Date/Time: Sunday, September 6, 2026, 4.15pm CET (Barcelona), 3.15pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 7.45pm IST (India)
Venue: Mestalla, Valencia, Spain
Referee: Isidro Díaz de Mera
Escuderos
VAR: Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Premier Sports 2 (UK), StarTimes (Nigeria), Movistar (Spain), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports Player (UK), FanCode (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Following a big win over Rayo Vallecano on Monday, Barcelona return to action looking to extend their perfect start to the season as the Catalans travel to the iconic Mestalla Stadium to face historic rivals Valencia on Sunday afternoon.
Barça come into this one with a chance to make an early statement in the title race: the Mourinho Invincibles lost their first game of the season away to Real Betis, so the Blaugrana can take sole possession of first place with a three-point lead if they win this one.
The Catalans had been very comfortable in their clashes with Valencia in the Hansi Flick Era, winning the first four meetings by a whopping combined score of 20-2. But Los Che finally put an end to the embarrassment in the final day of last season, beating Barça 3-1 at Mestalla and ending a horrible run of heavy defeats.
Barça had a team full of backups and youngsters as several key names were already being saved for the World Cup, and the Catalans had nothing to play for having been crowned league champions almost a month earlier. This one will count for both teams this time, and Barça will be looking to reestablish their dominance over Valencia.
The hosts for Sunday’s match are navigating a major injury crisis that is forcing coach Carlos Corberán to play a very defensive style, and the results aren’t good: Valencia have just one point and one goal scored from their first three games, and have seriously struggled to generate any meaningful offense.
Valencia are expected to play a back five, defend in a deep block and use the speed of their forwards on the counter, and will try to slow the game down as much as possible to try and cause an upset. Barça’s attack is flying but will meet a stubborn and physical defense, and the Blaugrana need to be very clinical to finish their chances and secure a win.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Joan; Eric, Cubarsí, Martín, Espart; Fermín, Rodri, Pedri; Adeyemi, Raphinha, Gordon
Valencia (5-3-2): Dimitrievski; Maffeo, Arnau, Diakhaby, Tárrega, Vázquez; Ugrinic, Pepelu, Guerra; Duro, Danjuma
PREDICTION
Barça dominated Valencia in scary fashion up until their last meeting, and the Blaugrana will be hungry to put that defeat in last season’s finale behind them and show Valencia they are still the superior side in this longtime rivalry: 3-1 to the visitors.
