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Undoubtedly, the central match of the 4th round of the Spanish championship will take place on Sunday night. At the "Camp Nou" stadium, the reigning champions of the last two seasons in Spain and last season's European champions will host a team with big ambitions.
Although only three rounds have been played in the championship so far, Valencia believes that the match in Barcelona will show whether they can seriously compete for the gold medals this year.
"These matches will show us how far Valencia can go this year," said Valencia midfielder Miguel Angel Angulo before the match. "It will be a great test of our current form and will help us set goals for this season."
"The match should be very close and tough, as they are extremely important for both teams. The smallest details will probably determine the outcome of the game," said the Spaniard.
Together with Sevilla, Valencia and Barcelona are the only teams this season that have not yet lost points. Although the season has just started, a victory for each team would give them a significant psychological advantage.
Valencia and Spanish national team striker David Villa, who scored both goals in last season's match at the Nou Camp, which ended 2-2, and scored the only goal that decided the win in the match at the Mestalla stadium, suffered a minor ankle injury, but should be able to play in Sunday's match. It is still unclear who his attacking partner will be: the most likely candidates are the in-form Spaniard Fernando Morientes or the young David Silva.
Former Real Madrid and Spanish national team striker F. Morientes seems to have regained his form that he had clearly lost while playing for Liverpool, as he scored five goals in the last six matches.
Spanish national team midfielder David Albelda is expected to return to the starting lineup, while Miguel Angel Angulo should play on the right flank, as Spanish national team midfielder Joaquin, who joined the team this summer, has not fully recovered from his injury yet.
Barcelona has had an impressive start to the season, securing three victories in as many matches thanks to the Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o, the most prolific player of the last season's Spanish championship.
The only team that has scored more goals in the first three matches than Barcelona is Sevilla, which has already scored 10 times and won the Seville derby against Betis 3-2 last weekend.
Barcelona's head coach Frank Rijkaard will likely be able to rely on all his players, except the injured Santiago Ezquerro, who was replaced on the bench by Argentine Javier Saviola.
On the other hand, Valencia's coach Quique Sanchez Flores has more problems. He will have to do without long-term injured Spanish national team defenders Carlos Marchena and Ruben Baraja. Others, like Spanish national team left-back Asier del Horno and Italian forward Francesco Tavano, have suffered minor injuries but still cannot play.
The match will start at 22:00 Lithuanian time.
Possible lineups
Barcelona: Valdes; Zambrotta, Puyol, Marquez, Van Bronckhorst; Edmilson, Xavi, Deco; Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o;
Valencia: Canizares; Miguel, Albiol, Ayala, Moretti; Angulo (Joaquin); Albelda, Edu, Vicente; Silva, Villa;
