Valencia forward Juan Mata says Barcelona are still threat
Valencia forward Juan Mata has warned his teammates that Barcelona will still provide a stern test of their title credentials when the La Liga leaders visit the Camp Nou for a mouth-watering clash on Saturday (16 October).
Mata’s side have enjoyed an unbeaten start to their league campaign which has seen them claim 16 points from six matches, but the Spain international believes that Valencia will face the biggest challenge so far this season against the Catalan giants.
Barcelona have suffered several disappointing results, including a 1-1 draw away to Russian champions Rubin Kazan in the UEFA Champions League and a stalemate against Real Mallorca at home, but Mata believes Pep Guardiola’s side will be desperate to make
up for lost ground.
'Could be good time to face champions'
When asked by Spanish newspaper Sport if it was a good time to take on Barcelona, he said that: "It could be, also because Barça don't tend to do so well in matches after the international break, they are more difficult games for them. But for me, this Barça
continues to be at the level of last season.
“They have the same style of play and, at least from outside, our perception of them is the same. The last few results at home have not been as good as they would like, but it's the same squad and the signings of players such as el 'Guaje' [David Villa]
makes them much more competitive."
Villa is a new arrival at Barcelona, having moved from Valencia in a high-profile transfer over the summer. While the striker has not been at his prolific best with the Spanish champions, Mata stated that Villa will soon come good for Barca.
He said that: "There's no room for doubt about him. In every team that he's played he's scored more than 15 goals [per season] and I'm sure he will score many more at Barça. I think he has a great chance to win the Pichichi [top scorer in La Liga]."
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