Newly-appointed Valencia coach Gary Neville will be watching from the stands as his side welcome Barcelona to the Mestalla in La Liga this weekend.

Phil Neville will take charge of the home side as they look to bounce back from defeat against the league leaders and reigning Spanish champions.

Valencia

© Getty Images

It has been a week of upheaval for Valencia, as manager Nuno Espirito Santo quit following the team's defeat to Sevilla last weekend, with the club sitting ninth in the standings, six points off the top four.

Assistant coach Phil Neville was placed in temporary charge of the side before brother Gary's appointment was announced on Wednesday, but the former Manchester United and England defender has left his younger sibling in charge for this match, believing that his Thursday arrival was too late for him to lead the preparations for the current champions.

Valencia have been in mixed form in the Spanish top flight, losing three of their last seven matches, while winning two of their last four, and being held to a 1-1 draw by newly-promoted Las Palmas in their last home fixture.

Los Che have not lost at the Mestalla in the league this season, winning half of their six home fixtures so far - only this weekend's visitors can also boast an unbeaten home record.

Valencia have one of the strongest defences in the league, conceding just 10 goals in their 13 matches so far while keeping six clean sheets. Only Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have kept their opponents out more often, while the latter is also the only side to have conceded fewer times.

Paco Alcacer is the team's top scorer so far, scoring six times in the league, including a brace in the 5-1 win over Celta Vigo last month. Valencia are the joint-eighth highest scorers in the division with 17.

The team were in action in the Copa del Rey earlier this week, beating Barakaldo 3-1 in the first leg of their fourth-round tie on Wednesday.

Recent form: WLWWDL
Recent form (all competitions): LWDLLW

Barcelona

© Getty Images

Barcelona head into this match in strong form, with their 4-0 win over Real Sociedad giving Luis Enrique's side a sixth straight victory in La Liga, leaving them four points clear at the top of the table.

The team's three leading strikers were all on the scoresheet last time out, with Lionel Messi netting his first La Liga goal in two months after returning from a knee injury a couple of weeks ago, while Neymar picked up a brace and Luis Suarez scored for a sixth straight match.

Despite scoring 18 goals in 20 appearances for the Catalan side this season, Suarez did not join Neymar and Messi on the shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or award, with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo completing the final three.

Barcelona are the top scorers in La Liga, having scored 33 times in their 13 outings so far, including 21 in their last six. Like Suarez, Neymar has been in strong form in front of goal in recent weeks, with six goals in his last four appearances.

Defending has also improved for Enrique's men in recent weeks, with the team keeping clean sheets in their last four matches in the league. Having conceded 12 goals, the team have the fourth-strongest record at the back so far this season.

Like Valencia, Barcelona were in action in the Copa del Rey this week, defeating Villanovense 6-1 in the second leg of their fourth-round tie to progress, after sharing a goalless draw in the first leg.

Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW

Team News

© Getty Images

The visitors are likely to be without Jeremy Mathieu for the trip to the Mestalla after the defender suffered a thigh strain in the Copa earlier this week. The injury could keep him on the sidelines for next week's Champions League outing as well.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen is also a doubt after missing the Villanovense tie earlier in the week with a knee injury, but the goalkeeper has mainly been used as the cup keeper this season, so was unlikely to feature ahead of Claudio Bravo.

For Valencia, Javi Fuego and Joao Cancelo are both suspended after being sent off in the defeat to Sevilla last weekend.

The duo's absence adds to a lengthy injury list, with Sofiane Feghouli, Alvaro Negredo and Shkodran Mustafi among those expected to miss the match.

Valencia possible starting lineup:
Ryan, Santos, Gaya, Orban, Abdennour, Parejo, Danilo, Perez, Mina, Vezo, Alcacer

Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Bravo, Pique, Alves, Mascherano, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Suarez, Neymar, Messi

Head To Head

In their two meetings in La Liga last season, Barcelona picked up two wins, defeating Valencia 1-0 at the Mestalla before winning 2-0 in April at Camp Nou.

Los Che have won just one of their last 17 matches against Barcelona, beating the league leaders 3-2 in an away match in the 2013-14 campaign, benefiting from the dismissal of Jordi Alba in the second half.

In 48 meetings between the two teams, Barcelona have 25 wins, while Valencia have won just 11 games.

We say: Valencia 1-3 Barcelona

Valencia will be keen to impress their new boss, but they face a Barcelona side in phenomenal form. The visitors also have the advantage of having already secured a spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League, while Valencia may have one eye on their match against Lyon on Wednesday. The visitors will surely threaten another high-scoring display, but the home side are tough to beat at the Mestalla, so will likely make it difficult.

Previews by email