Our prediction for this Primera Division match:
Barcelona will be looking to put an extra pressure on league leaders Atletico Madrid when they face Real Valladolid on Monday evening. Barca aim to bring down the curtain on the La Liga round 29 in style, and we are positive that the Catalan giants will go all guns blazing at La Pucela. Since Leo Messi was not on international duty with Argentina at the weekend, we believe that Ronald Koeman’s men are going to record a routine win over Valladolid.
The likes of Gerard Pique, Philippe Coutinho, and Ansu Fati remain in the recovery room, but the trio was not missed at all in a 6-1 crushing of Real Sociedad. La Pucela are four points clear of the relegation zone, and given their five-game winless run on the road, anything but a routine home win would be a major surprise. Fabian Orellana is banned for the match, while several first-team regulars have been tested positive for coronavirus.
Highlighted Player (Philippe Coutinho):
Philippe Coutinho is a Brazilian football player born on 12th of June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. Coutinho started his football career for Vasco da Gama where he played in the youth as well. By the age of 16 Internazionale signed Coutinho but let him play in Brazil until he was 18 years old.
After 2 difficult seasons Internazionale let Coutinho go for a loan period to Espanyol and after 1 season he got transferred to Liverpool for approximately 8 million euro. Coutinho played in several youth teams of Brazil but made his debut for the first team in October 2010.
With a height of only 171cm Coutinho is physically weak. He compensates his physical ability by being very creative, having a great vision and passing. The preferred position of Coutinho is attacking midfielder where he gets easily into the right position to give an assist.
Coutinho won the Italian Suppercoppa, the worldcup for club teams and the World Cup of nations U20. Coutinho was part of the Liverpool team that was able to become second in the Premier League.
Highlighted Team (Valladolid):
Real Valladolid is a Spanish club based in Valladolid, the part of the autonomous community of Castille and Leon. Founded in 1928, Real Valladolid play their home matches at Jose Zorilla, the venue that has the capacity 26,512. La Pucela have yet to win the La Liga title, but it is important to note that they finished fourth at the end of the 1962/1963 season.
Real Valladolid made it to the Spanish Cup final on two occasions (1949/1950, 1988/1989). In 1984 they won Copa de la Liga (League Cup), which is considered the team’s biggest success. Speaking of their European records, Real Valladolid participated in the 1989/1990 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals.
La Pucela are well known for their purple and white shirts, but they are known for some top-class footballers as well. The likes of Diego Costa, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Borja Fernandez, Rene Higuita, Luis Garcia and Aritz Aduriz played for Real Valladolid in the past.