A Hobbled Barcelona Seek A Second Consecutive Copa del Rey Vs Valencia

The last time we saw Barcelona, they didn’t look like Barcelona. Liverpool has just pulled off a miracle in the 2^nd leg of the Champions League semis, beating the presumed favorite in Anfield 4-0, and the collection of stars that are the Barca side were left staring at the sky in disbelief. A second half collapse on both sides of the field meant that they weren’t taking the trip to the CL Final that, until that moment, seemed like a foregone conclusion

While some felt, and even more wished, that Barcelona’s season ended that day, there were still games to be played. Two league games, a win and a draw, saw them extend their dominance to the most wins (26) and biggest goal differential (+56) in the league and the fifth La Liga title in the past seven years.

And now, the final hurdle to a domestic double and a 5^th consecutive Copa del Rey title? Valencia.

For Barca, this seems like an easy win. Valencia finished the season with 61 points and a +18 goal differential, 26 points and +38 behind the league leaders. But there’s a significant list of stumbling blocks that have most thinking this will be a challenge for Messi and company.

• Injuries, so many injuries: Luis Suarez and starting goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen have been ruled out, while Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Arthur and Nelson Semedo are all questionable. Of the 90 goals Barca scored this year, the injured accounted for nearly half of them (Messi almost had the other half to himself with 36.)
• Liverpool hangover: You could see it in the final two league games, and it may carry over into the Copa del Rey. A sense that no matter how well they do domestically, the season is already a failure. 
• Fate of Velverde: Poor Ernesto Velverde. Despite unrivaled domestic success in his two years as manager, Barca fans aren’t satisfied unless they win in Europe. In fact, some fans have even made pleas to intentionally lose the final to solidify the fate of beleaguered coach Ernesto Valverde. A loss here would be the clincher. Even a win might not be good enough.

All this and we still haven’t discussed the other finalist, Valencia, a team that finished in 4^th place in La Liga, only 7 points back of Real Madrid. Some highlights for Valencia this year include:

• They haven’t lost to Barcelona yet this season. They played Barca to a 1-1 draw at home in October, and battled to a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou in February.
• They had a strong end to the season, winning their last three league games to cement 4^thplace and, more importantly, a place in next year’s Champions League.
• They made a surprising run into the semis of the Europa League, where they lost to Arsenal.
• They’re in their first Copa del Rey final since 2007-08, when they won. Only recently they were in serious financial trouble. Manager Marcelino Garcia Toral has steadied a once sinking ship to make Valencia a fixture at the top of the La Liga table.
• They have a stout defense, finishing second in the league with fewest goals allowed.

Even with all of Barca’s defects and Valencia’s accolades, the men from Camp Nou are still the favorites coming in a -360 to Valencia’s +275. One of the best ways to bet this match to help you make some profits is through a savvy Bet Builder, parlaying some bets on top of each other to get a better payout. Some possibilities:

• Two bet builder: A fulltime tie with an over 2.5 in goals scored is a great deal at +1100.
• Three bet builder: A Barca win, with both teams to score, and a correct score of 2-1 is a nice +700.
• Remember that Suarez out and other scorers are injured, plus Valencia’s always tough defense. You could pick a Valencia upset, with under 3.5 goals, and both teams to score at a great +1500.

Good luck this weekend! (Especially to Ernesto Velverde…)