Copa Del Rey
2019-05-25 - FC Barcelona vs Valencia
A Sports Betting Pick by Cruiser
Football: Copa Del Rey Final
25th May 2019 – Kickoff time 21:00 [Seville, Spain Time]
Introduction :
It is somewhat common to see Barcelona appearing in the final of the Copa del Rey year after year while this year their opponent will be Valencia. Both teams can be satisfied with what they achieved in La Liga, as Barcelona defended their title, while Valencia managed to finish in fourth place and qualified for the Champions League next season.
Both teams failed to get past the semi finals of the European competitions as Barcelona in the Champions League and Valencia in the Europa League.
FC Barcelona
Barcelona dominated the Spanish football scene and they managed to defend the title they won last season. They also dominate the Copa del Rey year after year now. The Catalans won the Cup in the last four seasons and now they can win it for the fifth time in a row and in total they have 30 titles in all. However their fans cannot be totally happy with their performances as they failed to make it to the final of the Champions League.
They were stopped in the semi finals by Liverpool despite beating Liverpool at home by 3-0 and were the favourites to make it to the final. It seems unbelievable they lost the second leg by 4-0 to go out on a 4-3 aggregate. That was also their first defeat in the Champions League this season. Now they will try to get some consolation from winning the cup, although they will not be fully satisfied.
As for the team news, Goalkeeper ter Stegen is injured and Cillessen will start in goal instead. Meanwhile, Dembele and striker L. Suarez is out of action as well.
Valencia:
Despite a poor start to their season, it ended very well for them. They should be very happy at how their finished in La Liga as fourth place means they will play in the Champions League next season. They played in the Champions League this season but could not pass the group stage. Then they were relegated to the Europa League where they reached the semi finals but they were stopped by Arsenal, despite taking the lead in both legs.
In the Copa del Rey they did not face strong rivals it should be added. They struggled in almost all matches of the competition and they were beaten twice on their way to the final. They eliminated Real Betis in the semi finals, but the Cup final will be played at their Benito Villamarin stadium so it is very likely that will not enjoy sympathy of the locals.
In La Liga, Valencia struggled till the last moment to keep the fourth place and they finally succeeded thanks to winning their last three games of the season. They won two matches away from home but the win against Real Valladolid in the last round was the one that mattered most as they won 2-0.
As for the team news, Stopper Garay has recovered from his injuries and will start this match now.
Past Meetings:
Interestingly both their head to heads ended as draws in La Liga this season.
The Pick:
Go for Barcelona and give the 3/4 ball Asian Handicap.
The Pick :
FC Barcelona 3-1 Valencia
