Barcelona will look to tighten their hold on top spot in La Liga by claiming a victory away at Real Valladolid

Barcelona will look to tighten their hold on top spot in La Liga by claiming a victory away at Real Valladolid on Saturday night.

Hansi Flick’s side maintained their four point lead at the summit of the standings with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Mallorca last midweek before going on to edge out Real Madrid 3-2 in last week’s Copa del Rey final.

With Real Madrid not in action until Sunday afternoon, Barcelona will look to ramp up pressure on their title rivals by seeing off Valladolid.

The Catalan giants will come into this clash off the back of a frantic 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

As for Real Valladolid, their inevitable relegation from La Liga was finally rubber-stamped last week when they suffered a 5-1 defeat at Real Betis.

The White and Violets’ latest home assignment makes for ominous reading and there is every chance they could find themselves on the wrong side of another heavy loss against star studded Barcelona.

I successfully backed Raphinha to either score or to provide an assist against Inter on Wednesday night and bundling up a goal from the brilliant Brazilian on Saturday night alongside a Barcelona win will boost the odds to 4/5 on Bet 365.

Selim Amallah has already been booked six times in La Liga this season and that trend could be one to follow here given the plethora of talent that Barcelona have in the final-third.

Predicted line-ups
With their relegation now confirmed, Valladolid boss Alvaro Rubio could opt to make a few changes in a bid to freshen up his side.

Barcelona are likely to be without Jules Kounde after the French defender had to come off with a hamstring injury against Inter on Wednesday night.

Real Valladolid: Ferreira; Candela, Aidoo, Sanchez, Aznou; Juric; Amallah, Martin, Chuki, Moro; Sylla.

Barcelona: Szczesny; Garcia, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martin; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Torres.