Barcelona go to Valencia in La Liga on Sunday with a perfect start still intact, and Hansi Flick now has to decide how much of that momentum he is willing to protect. The league leaders have already beaten Athletic Club, Elche and Rayo Vallecano, but the next step is less about style than selection.
The search around Barcelona Vs Valencia is driven by that balance. Barcelona have won five straight matches against Valencia before their defeat at Mestalla on the final day of last season, scoring 24 goals and conceding four in that run. Valencia, by contrast, have collected just one point from a possible nine and have scored just once in their three outings, which makes Sunday a test of whether Barcelona’s early edge travels as cleanly as it has at home.
Joan García is part of the reason the discussion has sharpened. He conceded his first goals of the campaign against Rayo Vallecano last Monday, after Barcelona had beaten Elche and Athletic Club with clean sheets in the early weeks. Eric García had been in the side for those shutouts before dropping to the bench, and Pau Cubarsí has since played in a defense that has faced a tame Valencia attack this season.
That is where Flick’s problem starts to bite. Andreas Christensen is enjoying an injury-free stretch and will compete with Gerard Martín for a place as Cubarsí’s partner, while Xavi Espart has impressed in a range of roles early in the season and registered his first senior assist against Rayo Vallecano. There is no confirmed defensive lineup for Sunday, and the coach must also weigh Wednesday’s Champions League opener at home to Feyenoord before locking in his XI.
For Barcelona, the match is no longer just about extending a run. It is about deciding whether a title defense can keep its edge while the calendar starts to ask more from the same squad. If Flick gets the balance wrong, the first real mistake of the season may not come from Valencia at all, but from the choices made before the game even starts.
