Semifinals – Confirming the finalists
By David, BettingExpert.com | Edited
The Mirandes miracle kept itself intact with that last gasp goal by Lambarri in the first leg but at the San Mames it will have to be a great showing from the third division side if they are to land a historic final. Their opponent then would probably be Barcelona since Valencia, in their current state, will need an equally impressive display at the Nou Camp in order to upset the odds.
Athletic Bilbao – Mirandes
With regards to the regularity of the Lambarri goal there are questions but there was no doubt about the heart the Mirandes players put in that match. Unfortunately, they were up against a team which has always given a lot of importance to the Copa del Rey. Asking Athletic Bilbao to have mercy on a inferior side was not an option.
Bielsa in Spain wants to make an impact. His attacking philosophy has shunned the big clubs from getting them on their hot seat so Athletic is perhaps as close as he could get to the football stardom. His intentions are not to squander the chance given and with the title an affair between the usual suspects the best shot is the national cup.
Verdict: Over 2.5
Bielsa should not let the chance to get back in the headlines slip by at the hands of lowly Mirandes. The guests, at this point, will have nothing to lose and with the final blinding their sight they will be aggressive and push on.
Barcelona – Valencia
This looks the right time to be questioning Barcelona’s credentials. It is their low point of the season and it can only be accepted as part of any team’s season. At some point it had to come and in truth it has been long coming for the Blaugrana. They have not been the most convincing of teams on away turf and Messi has in fact been misfiring a little too much for a player who has just received the third consecutive Ballon d’Or.
Guardiola will refuse to panic though knowing that this is perfectly natural. What was not was their excellent displays with that kind of continuity in the preceding months. Nonetheless, when all is said and done the manager knows that when it comes to the games that count his players never, or almost never, disappoint.
This is one such match and at home I can hardly see Valencia, hit by too many injuries and having gone one worse than Barca on the road – 4-5-2 is their away record in the Liga in comparison to Barcelona’s 4-5-1. Clearly Los Che have played one more game than Barcelona way from home but the numbers serve to say that if Barcelona’s away records are being criticized than Valencia have not done much better to deserve the praise instead.
Those numbers therefore take us to another key factor for this encounter. Which team will be playing away from home? Valencia. I think that is more than helpful to indicate which side should be dictating the pace in this match.
Verdict: Barcelona -1.5
Excluding the double Copa success over both city rivals Levante and Sevilla in the preceding rounds Valencia have not won any other match since the start of 2012. Both of the clubs they imposed themselves upon have had troubles this calendar year and what they have been showing recently does not really placer Valencia in a good position to have the upper hand in a clash with Barca at the moment.
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