Valencia vs Barcelona: Preview, predictions and lineups | OneFootball

Barcelona make the trip to Valencia on Thursday evening in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

The Catalan outfit haven't won the competition since 2020/21 and are chasing their second piece of silverware under Hansi Flick. Having thrashed Valencia 7-1 during their La Liga meeting at the end of January, the Catalan giants will be full of confidence for the upcoming duel as they seek safe passage to the last four.

Despite enduring the odd rocky patch during the Flick era, Barcelona find themselves nine games without defeat, securing their spot in the Champions League last 16 and moving within striking distance of title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the league.

Valencia have not been so fortunate this season, however. Los Che are fighting a relegation battle in La Liga after a dismal start to the campaign under Ruben Baraja but have shown signs of improvement with Carlos Corberan at the helm since the turn of the year. The 41-year-old has won four of his seven games in charge, with the only defeat coming to Barcelona.

Here is 90min's guide to Barca's cup outing.

Valencia vs Barcelona head-to-head record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Valencia vs Barcelona on TV - UK and US

Valencia team news

Carlos Corberan hasn't got many injuries to contend with / Fran Santiago/GettyImages

Thierry Correia is Valencia's only guaranteed absentee as he sits out the remainder of the campaign with an ACL tear. There are also doubts over star striker Hugo Duro and defender Dimitri Foulquier, both of whom have missed recent training sessions.

However, Corberan should be able to count on Javi Guerra, Diego Lopez and Enzo Barrenechea despite concerns regarding their fitness levels following the weekend win over Celta Vigo.

Corberan could include deadline day signing Ivan Jaime in his squad after the winger joined on loan from Porto, but Liverpool-owned Giorgi Mamardashvili could be replaced by cup goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Valencia predicted lineup vs Barcelona

Valencia predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Dimitrievski; Aarons, Tarrega, Mosquera, Gaya; Guerra, Pepelu; Lopez, Almeida, Rioja; Sadiq.

Barcelona team news

Gavi is an injury doubt / David Ramos/GettyImages

Barcelona remain without the quartet of Dani Olmo, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen and Marc Bernal, while Gavi is also a doubt for Thursday's fixture after suffering a nasty head injury in the weekend win over Alaves.

The Spaniard has trained away from the rest of his teammates in recent days and is unlikely to be risked against Valencia even if passed fit.

Flick could make several changes to his lineup elsewhere, with chances perhaps handed to peripheral figures. Wojciech Szczesny will likely start between the sticks, however, with the Barcelona boss confirming that the Poland international is his first-choice stopper.

Barcelona predicted lineup vs Valencia (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Garcia, Cubarsi, Balde; Casado, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Corberan has improved Valencia but they were handed an almighty reality check in their recent seven-goal hammering at the hands of Barcelona. While the scoreline may not be quite so emphatic on this occasion, the Catalan side should run out comfortable winners - especially if the hosts make alterations to their XI.

Barcelona may have one eye on the weekend trip to Sevilla but their direction qualification for the Champions League last 16 means February shouldn't be too busy. Flick will start a strong side in Valencia, likely fielding his feared attacking triumvirate of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.