European football preview: Barcelona to bounce back against Valencia?

The international break is over and that means European football returns this weekend and there are some crucial fixtures to get your teeth into in both Spain and Italy.

We take a look at the stand-out fixtures here…

Barcelona v Valencia

Sunday evening sees Ronald Koeman’s struggling Barcelona side go up against Valencia in a crucial La Liga fixture.

Barcelona have lost one of their last 10 La Liga games against Valencia, with their only loss coming in January 2020 under Quique Setien. Last time out, Barcelona lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid and if they lose this fixture, it will be the first time since October 2020 that they have lost back-to-back games in La Liga. An unwanted stat for Barcelona is their shot conversion rate in La Liga so far this season, which is 13.6% – their lowest percentage in a single campaign in the top-flight since 2007-08. A win for Barcelona is priced at 1/2.

Although Valencia have only won once in 10 games against Barcelona, they are the away team with the most goals at Camp Nou in La Liga since 2013/14, scoring 14 goals in their previous eight games. Valencia head into this fixture as 11/2 underdogs but anything can happen at the Camp Nou nowadays. Maxi Gómez has scored six goals in eight games against Barcelona in La Liga and he is 29/10 to find the back of the net anytime on Sunday once again.

Juventus v Roma

Three weeks ago, Juventus were sitting in the Serie A relegation zone but three consecutive wins in the competition has seen them climb the table. But this weekend’s fixture against high flying Roma will be a tough task for the Old Lady…

If Juventus manage to defeat Roma, they could achieve two consecutive wins against the capital club in Serie A for the first time since 2016. Massimiliano Allegri’s side are priced at 17/20 to get all three points. Federico Chiesa has played six games against Roma without scoring, making them the team against which he has played the most Serie A games without a goal. The Italian forward is priced at 8/5 to find the back of the net anytime.

Roma, meanwhile, have lost nine Serie A away games in 2021 and the last time they lost 10 away games in a single calendar year in the top-flight was back in 2012. The visitors are 3/1 to leave Turin with all three points this weekend. Lorenzo Pellegrini has scored four goals this season for Roma and he is 11/4 to find the back of the net against Juventus for the first time in his career.

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