Barcelona return to La Liga action on Tuesday night to take on Real Valladolid at Nou Camp after Ernesto Valverde’s men were presented with an extended break due to the postponement of El Clasico over the weekend.The Catalan club could find themselves in second ahead of the midweek La Liga clash due to that postponement, but will be confident and wrestling back top spot as they host a side who have claimed only three wins from their opening ten league fixtures.Real Valladolid beat Espanyol 2-0 over the weekend at Jose Zorrilla with goals from Sergi Guardiola and Mohammed Salisu to extend a five-match unbeaten streak of their own and they will now want to put on another solid challenge here and we expect them very motivated to catch up with the top six.

Team News

Defensive duo Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti remain sidelined with ligament and knee problems respectively and are unlikely to be deemed fit enough for the midweek fixture. Ousmane Dembele received a red card in his most recent La Liga outing so he will be forced to watch from the sidelines on Tuesday, while Carles Pérez should have recovered from a muscle problem in time to be fit for the match.For the visitors, there are a host of players battling hard to be fit in time with Javi Sanchez remains a doubt in defence, while in midfield all of Luismi, Ruben Alcaraz and Fede San Emeterio are set to miss the match.Upfront, former Everton forward Sandro Ramirez remains doubtful, as does winger Pablo Hervias.

Head to Head

Lionel Messi handed ​Barçelona victory in the previous meeting between those two sides, netting the only goal of the game from the penalty spot back in February.However, in 34 meeting of both side the home team have dominated this tie by winning 25, picking up five draws, and losing just four times.

Recent Form 

Valverde’s men are on a hot run of form at present after emerging victorious from each of their last six matches in all competitions including their last five home games, scoring 18 goals in the process, making for unwelcome reading to Tuesday’s visitors.For Sergio González’ side, after a poor start to the season, the Spanish club have begun to hit form after Pucela have not been beaten in their last six matches, they’ve secured draws against Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, while also seeing off Eibar and Espanyol.That run has lifted them into eighth place in the division, although no sterner test exists than traveling to Camp Nou.

Predicted Lineups Barcelona:

Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, Arthur, De Jong; Messi, Suarez, Griezmann

Predicted Lineups Valladolid:

Masip; Moyano, Kiko, Salisu, Nacho; Plano, Fernandez, Michel, Suarez; Unal, Guardiola

Prediction:

Barcelona 4-1 Real Valladolid