The friendly match, Barcelona vs Valerenga, will be held this Saturday, July 27, 2013 (10:00 AM Pacific) at the Ullevaal Stadium in Norway. FC Barcelona will play their 2nd preseason match when they visit the modest team of Valerenga in Oslo. This will be Barcelona’s last game before new coach Tata Martino takes command of the squad.
Barcelona is one step away from beginning a new era. Coach Martino (coached Newell’s Old Boys last season) will be the new leader of the most prestigious club in the world. On Saturday, he will watch the match from the stands, as interim coach Jordi Roura will have his final game with the team. Martino’s first game will be next Tuesday when Barcelona plays Lechia Gdansk.
The ‘azulgranas’ had a bad start to their preseason when they lost against Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Allianz Arena last Wednesday. Against Valerenga they have a good opportunity to begin building confidence for the upcoming season. That game will allow for the locker-room to fortify in this time of managerial change. Youngsters like Jonathan Dos Santos need to use this game to show that they are not only first-team worthy, but rather worthy enough to be kept in the team.
Valerenga is currently in the middle of their season; this is due to Norway’s freezing weather in the winter months. In their domestic league they are in 8th place after 16 games; therefore their match against Barcelona will allow them to obtain a needed morale boost which could allow them to gain ground on the top table teams.
Barcelona vs Valerenga Prediction
The Barcelona vs Valerenga match will be an interesting match for the azulgranas; they will play their last match under Tito Vilanova’s assistants. This match will end a brief era under Vilanova, but it will also mark a change in power where Martino will attempt to win everything from La Liga to the Champions League. Barcelona, who will play with an alternate squad against Valerenga’s first team, is the clear favorite to win this Saturday. Regarding Neymar, the Brazilian star will not report with the team until the end of the month. The Barcelona vs Valerenga match will end in a 3-1 win for the Spanish side.
Barcelona vs Valerenga TV Schedule
The Barcelona vs Valerenga friendly will be televised this Saturday, July 27, 2013 on beIN Sport en Español at 10:00 AM Pacific.
