Day: October 5, 2018

These two teams would be looking to build on their success on English soil when they meet in this La Liga Matchday 8 fixture.

Barcelona beat Tottenham 4-2 with Lionel Messi putting on one of his best displays in a Barca shirt in recent memory, while Valencia succeeded in picking up a draw against an unmotivated Manchester United side in midweek too.

These two teams haven’t really had a good season domestically even though the visitors are currently top of the La Liga table.

Valencia secured just their first win of the season before travelling to Manchester, however, they have been beaten just once all season in the league while picking up 5 draws. They seem to be struggling to score goals, but defensively, they have been solid as well and they would be looking to shut out the in-form Messi.

Barcelona head into this match with no win in their last three La Liga games. It becomes worrying when you realised that their opponents in this games were Girona, Leganes, and Athletic Bilbao. The only reason why they are still top of the league table is that Real Madrid are also having a bad season.

Barca have won 5 of the last 6 meetings overall. Valencia have only won one of their last eight La Liga games against Barcelona (D2 L5), with that win coming away from home (1-2 in April 2016).

This clash sees two teams who have been hit hard by poor recent form and who are both looking for morale-boosting wins to get their seasons back on track.

Manchester United are a team in crisis and reports claim that this game could be Jose Mourinho’s last at the helm, so the Portuguese tactician would be looking for a serious effort and ultimately a win from his players who appear to have given up on him.

Manchester United head into this game, winless in their last four games in all competitions, and this is their worst start to a league season since the 80s, so things have to change for them as they have won just 4 of their opening 10 competitive games this season.

The stakes are not so much higher at Newcastle as the fans have decided to instead blame their very unpopular owner for the chaos going on at the club. With no wins in all competitions this season, and just 2 points earned from a possible 21 in the Premier League, there is no question that the players have to do better sooner rather than later.

Manchester United have won three, drawn two, and lost one of their last six meetings with Newcastle. However, the hosts have lost just one of their last 36 home games against Newcastle, winning 26 times.

Manchester City would be visiting the only ground that they were beaten last season, and Jurgen Klopp would be looking to continue his impressive record against Pep Guardiola here again.

These two teams are first and second on the Premier League table with Manchester City only topping the standings on goal difference. Liverpool suffered a defeat in midweek when they visited Napoli, while Manchester City won at Hoffenheim.

However, form or previous results usually doesn’t matter when these two teams meet. Manchester City hasn’t won a league game at Anfield since 2003, Sergio Aguero has never scored at Anfield in the Premier League, and Liverpool have won all of their last 5 home games against Manchester City in the Premier League.

A lot is at stake in this game as a Liverpool win would see them open up a 3 points gap on the defending champions, while a win for Manchester City would mean Liverpool have failed to win 4 consecutive games in all competitions.

With the international break on the horizon, both teams would be looking to get early bragging rights and seat at the top of the table at the end of the weekend.