Real Valladolid’s first home La Liga match in over four years sees them welcome champions Barcelona to the Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Saturday.
Los Pucelanos were relegated from the top flight in the 2013/14 campaign, yet curiously enough that season they beat Barca 1-0 at home and also drew 1-1 with Real Madrid.
Ernesto Valverde’s men will be hoping to avoid another upset and make the trip west having recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over Alaves in their opening game of the season.
Latest odds
Barca are offered at just 4/25 (1.16) with SportPesa to win their first match on the road of the season. The hosts meanwhile can be backed at 16/1 (17.00) to repeat their success of 2014 over Barca, with the draw available at 13/2 (7.50).
Team news
Philippe Coutinho started the match against Alaves last week on the bench, but could be handed a starting berth after his impressive scoring contribution.
Valladolid remain without summer signing Ivi Lopez, with the winger still struggling with an achilles problem.
Preview
Last season Valladolid finished fifth in the Segunda Division coming up through the play-offs, with just under half of their 69 league goals scored by Jaime Mata.
However, the striker has been sold to Getafe and Valladolid will surely struggle to replace such a key part of their team.
Back in the top flight for the first time in five seasons, Valladolid have been extremely quiet in the transfer market and theirs looks to be one of the weakest squads in La Liga.
The gulf in quality between the hosts and their illustrious neighbours should be pretty evident and Barcelona look set record another comfortable win on Saturday evening.
Tips and predictions
Barcelona to win both halves is priced at 11/10 (2.10) and looks like a solid angle with which to invest in the visitors. Also worthy of consideration is backing over 1.5 goals in the first half at 21/10 (2.05).
Barcelona to win both halves at 11/10 (2.10) for a 2pt stake with SportPesa 
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