Lamine Yamal trains separately as Barcelona visits Mestalla.

Barcelona, by contrast, have made an excellent start to the campaign. Hans-Dieter Flick's team has won all three opening games. Their most recent result was particularly impressive, with Barcelona defeating Rayo Vallecano 5-2. Meanwhile, the managerial records favor Barcelona ahead of Sunday’s trip to Mestalla. Corberán has faced Flick four times, winning once and suffering three defeats. Flick has faced Valencia on five occasions, recording four victories and one defeat. Corberán has also faced Barcelona four times, with one victory and three defeats. In addition, in La Liga specifically, Barcelona has won 92 of the 182 meetings between the sides, while Valencia have recorded 44 victories. A total of 46 encounters have ended in draws. Sunday’s game also offers Barca the chance to gain an early advantage over Real Madrid, who suffered a 1-0 loss to Real Betis on Friday night. Raphinha is expected at the attacking end of Barcelona’s 4—2—3—1 setup once again. According to reports, Lamine Yamal, who has now joined the club’s captaincy group for the 2026-27 season, trained separately from the squad ahead of Sunday’s trip to Valencia. Meanwhile, Roony Bardghji remains ruled out alongside Frenkie de Jong and Jesse Bisiwu.

Valencia CF vs. Barcelona kicks off at 15:15 [GMT+1] on Sunday, September 6, at the Estadio de Mestalla. Valencia have collected just one point and sit 17th, while Barcelona are top of the table with nine points. Valencia come into the match in difficult form. Carlos Corberán's side suffered a 3-1 defeat against Deportivo in their last La Liga outing and have now gone three consecutive matches without a win. They are also on the back of two successive defeats, while their home form has produced two consecutive matches without victory. The recent meeting between these teams, however, provides Valencia with a reason for optimism. Their last encounter ended in a 3-1 victory for Valencia at the Estadio de Mestalla on May 23, 2026. They will therefore be looking to repeat that result against a Barcelona side that currently leads the league. However, historically, Barcelona have enjoyed the upper hand in this fixture. The clubs have met 233 times across all competitions, with Barcelona recording 117 victories compared with Valencia's 59. There have also been 57 draws. The record at Mestalla is considerably closer, although Barcelona still have a narrow advantage, winning 45 of 117 meetings at the stadium compared with Valencia's 42 victories. A 3—5—2 setup with Arnaut Danjuma and Ryunosuke Sato in attack is expected against Barcelona. Diego López is one of Valencia’s many absentees.