Real Valladolid vs Barcelona Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream & Team News

Barcelona travel to Valladolid in La Liga on Tuesday night, where a vital three points is up for grabs against a side who are flirting with danger at the bottom of the table.

Ronald Koeman's side sit fifth, eight points away from league leaders Atletico Madrid, but do have games in hand over the likes of Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Villarreal, all of whom sit above them in the table.

Valladolid will be no pushovers, however. Despite occupying a spot in the relegation zone, they've proven to be resilient in recent weeks and a small upturn in form has seen them lose just once in their last five.

Here's 90min's preview of the game.

Where to Watch

When is Kick Off? Tuesday 22 December
What Time is Kick Off? 21:00 (GMT)
Where is it Played? Jose Zorilla Stadium
TV Channel/Live Stream? LaLigaTV

Team News

La Blaugrana have welcomed Ousmane Dembele back to training following a hamstring injury, although the trip to Valladolid will likely prove too soon for the injury-hit winger.

Barça will also be without Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto at the back, while youngster Ansu Fati is also still recovering from knee surgery in November and isn't expected to be back until the new year.

The uncertainty over Lionel Messi's Barcelona future heading into 2021 rumbles on, but he's available and will be involved barring any last minute hitches.

For the hosts, injuries to the likes of Joaquin Fernandez, Saidy Janko, Kiko Olivas and Javi Moyano continue to plague them, but Valladolid have managed to pull out adequate results in their absences. Goalkeeper Jordi Masip swapped Barcelona for Valladolid in 2017 and he's a certain starter against his former employers.

Predicted Lineups

Real Valladolid: Masip; Hervias, Bruno, Yamiq, Garcia; Orellana, Mesa, Fede, Plano; Weissman, Andre.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, Lenglet, Alba; De Jong, Busquets; Griezmann, Coutinho, Braithwaite; Messi.

Recent Form

Sergio Gonzalez's side have improved in recent weeks, and picked up a solid point against Sevilla at the weekend having lost only twice since the beginning of November - to Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, both of whom sit in the top four.

A win against Barcelona would be enough to steer Valladolid well clear of the drop and into mid-table, should other results go their way.

Barcelona haven't found their groove at all this season and slipped to a disappointing 2-2 draw against Valencia on Saturday, despite the efforts of Messi and Ronald Araujo.

The draw was the latest blip in an inconsistent December that has seen Barcelona win three games in all competitions, but also lose games against sides as varied as Cadiz and Juventus.

Here's a breakdown of both team's performances in their last five.

Real Valladolid

Sevilla 1-1 Real Valladolid (19/12)
Real Valladolid 3-2 Osasuna (11/12)
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Valladolid (05/12)
Real Valladolid 1-1 Levante (27/11)
Granada 1-3 Real Valladolid (22/11)

Barcelona

Barcelona 2-2 Valencia (19/12)
Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad (16/12)
Barcelona 1-0 Levante (13/12)
Barcelona 0-3 Juventus (08/12)
Cadiz 2-1 Barcelona (05/12)

Prediction

For Valladolid, the opportunity to snatch a win against the Catalan giants has never been more achievable and would do wonders in boosting their fight against relegation.

Barcelona are desperate to end 2020, however, which has undoubtedly been one of their worst years as a club. Without disrespecting Valladolid, anything less than a win would be yet another major disappointment and could call Ronald Koeman's future at the club into question.

With that in mind, they'll know what's at stake and secure a much-needed victory.

Prediction: Real Valladolid 1-3 Barcelona