Hello everyone and welcome along to this Barcelona vs Real Valladolid live blog, for the final game of Matchday 29 in LaLiga Santander. Barcelona know that they can finish the night just one point behind leaders Atletico Madrid and they have a great chance to do so against a Real Valladolid side missing 12 first-team squad members. We’ll have the build-up right here, before minute-by-minute updates from the match itself after the 21:00 CEST kick off. All updates follow the below image, the with the latest ones at the top.
Barcelona vs Real Valladolid LIVE
20:10 CEST: A double team on Messi?
The Real Valladolid team is out and it looks like Sergio might be playing a back five, with two left-backs. Lucas Olaza and Nacho might double Lionel Messi, but the Argentine is more than capable of still finding a way through. The complete Real Valladolid line-up is as follows: Jordi Masip; Saidy Janko, Javi Sanchez, Bruno Gonzalez, Lucas Olaza, Nacho; Roque Mesa, Ruben Alcaraz; Oscar Plano, Kenan Kodro, Sergi Guardiola.
20:05 CEST: Messi and De Jong risk missing El Clasico
That metaphorical suspension tightrope is tonight occupied by Lionel Messi and Frenkie de Jong. They’re both one yellow card away from a suspension and the next match just happens to be El Clasico. Is Ronald Koeman taking an unnecessary risk here with these two key cogs for a home match against a heavily depleted Real Valladolid side?
19:50 CEST: No changes in the Barcelona line-up
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Ronald Koeman has a formula that has been working, with a 6-1 thumping of Real Sociedad last time out, so he names the same team again. It’s the fourth match in a row with the line-up of: Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Oscar Mingueza, Frenkie de Jong, Clement Lenglet; Sergino Dest, Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Jordi Alba; Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann.
19:35 CEST: Real Valladolid are missing 12 players
It was never going to be easy for Real Valladolid to go to the Camp Nou and take points off Barcelona, but even more so in this game as they’re missing 12 players. Due to suspension, they’re without Fabian Orellana. Due to injury, they’re without Jawad El Yamiq, Fede San Emeterio, Kiko Olivas, Raul Garcia, Shon Weissman and Jota. And due to COVID-19, they’re without Michel Herrero, Luis Perez, Joaquin Fernandez, Roberto Jimenez and Kike Perez. That’s quite an absentee list for coach Sergio.
19:15 CEST: Barcelona’s last experience of Monday night football
This is actually Barcelona‘s second Monday night game in the space of three weeks. On March 15, they faced Huesca at home on a Monday night and super goals from Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann steered them towards a 4-1 victory. Before that, Barcelona hadn’t played on a Monday since a Supercopa de Espana game against Athletic Club in August of 2015 and hadn’t played a Monday LaLiga game since August of 2011. Now, they’ve had two in just a few weeks.
19:00 CEST: What time does this Monday night match kick off?
This clash between Barcelona and Real Valladolid will start at 21:00 CEST in Spain, which is 20:00 BST for fans watching on from the United Kingdom or 15:00 EDT for those on the east coast of the United States. Barcelona have made a handy graphic for fans in other time zones to check exactly when the ball will get rolling at the Camp Nou.
