Jose Gaya, Pablo Piatti & Lionel Messi
Valencia held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Mestalla in La Liga earlier this season Reuters

Gary Neville leads Valencia to the Nou Camp for a crunch Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against La Liga leaders Barcelona on 3 February.

Where to watch

Kick-off is set for 8pm GMT. The game is not scheduled for live broadcast in the UK.

Overview

Barcelona are in imperious form heading into their Copa del Rey semi-final showdown with Valencia, having won their last eight fixtures across all competitions. The Catalan giants are on a 29-match unbeaten run at the Nou Camp stretching back to February 2015.

Barca boss Luis Enrique has no fresh injury concerns, with long-term knee injury victim Rafinha the only absentee.

Valencia suffered a demoralising setback at the weekend as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Sporting Gijon, leaving coach Gary Neville still without a victory in La Liga. The Mestalla club have lost six of their last nine meetings with Barcelona, with the teams playing out a 1-1 draw in a league game earlier this season.

New Valencia signings Guilherme Siqueira and Denis Cheryshev have been included in the 21-man squad travelling to Catalonia and could make their debuts for the club. Paco Alcacer (knee) and Enzo Perez (cheek) are sidelined through injury, while centre-back Aymen Abdennour has been rested.

What managers say

Luis Enrique: "Valencia will create difficulties. They are a team that dares to generate pressure and they have some fine individuals. This wasn't an easy draw for either for us. But we're hoping to play well and set things up nicely for the second leg."

Gary Neville: "There have been some good results against Barcelona. It's an important meeting and we have to be able to go back to the Mestalla with a chance. That is our intention."

Form guide

  • Barcelona (all competitions): WWWWW
  • Last result: Barcelona 2-1 Atletico Madrid
  • Valencia (all competitions): LWDDD
  • Last result: Valencia 0-1 Sporting Gijon

Betting odds (bet365)

  • Barcelona win: 1/8
  • Draw: 8
  • Valencia win: 18

Team news

Barcelona possible XI: Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar

Valencia possible XI: Ryan; Barragan, Mustafi, Santos, Siqueira; Barbosa, Parejo, Gomes; Feghouli, Negredo, Piatti

Barcelona FC