Valencia manager Carlos Corberan “obsession” with Barcelona dates back to West Brom spell

Valencia are unbeaten in their last four matches across all competitions, although that run of form will be tested against Barcelona this weekend. New head coach Carlos Corberan has breathed new life into the La Liga strugglers, and they will go into the fixture at the Estadi Olimpic with belief that they can add to the Catalans’ league woes.

Los Che will need to be at their best to nullify the threat posed by Barcelona, although it appears that they have the perfect manager in charge to do this. Corberan has a lot of knowledge about Hansi Flick’s style of play, with Relevo reporting that he has been researching the tactics used by the German manager for over two months.

It’s stated that Corberan has dedicated many hours to analysing Flick’s Barcelona side, with the process having started in November when he was still head coach of EFL Championship side West Bromwich Albion.

At that time, Corberan was analysing Barcelona in order to implement some of his tactics for his West Brom side, but now he will have the opportunity to do side against the Catalans themselves. As per the report, he has taken a particular interest in the high defensive line that Flick has employed, and he will surely look for ways to exploit it with his attacking players, such as Luis Rioja, Diego Lopez and Hugo Duro.

Corberan will be without the services of suspended defender Cristhian Mosquera for the trip to Montjuic, which is a massive blow for Valencia. However, he does have a suitable replacement in Yarek Gasiorowski, who will almost certainly partner Cesar Tarrega in the centre of defence. Those two, as well as the other nine players, will need to be at their best this weekend, and if not, it will be very tough for Los Che to continue their recent good form.