adminMADRID. — New Valencia coach Gary Neville will be a mere spectator as his side face the daunting task of halting European soccer champions Barcelona’s free-scoring form today.
Neville doesn’t officially take charge at the Mestalla until tomorrow leaving the caretaker team of his brother Phil and Voro in control this weekend.
“Wednesday was the announcement and Thursday was the first day I was able to come over so it wasn’t fair for me to come in and do sessions just before such a big match,” Neville explained as he was unveiled on Thursday.
Despite the difficulty of the task, Valencia’s need for points is the greater as they lie ninth in the table, five points off their target of a top-four finish. By contrast, Barcelona have surged four points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of the table with Real Madrid a further two points back.
Wednesday’s 6-1 thrashing of Villanovense in the Copa del Rey took the Catalans tally to 26 goals in their last six games.
Fixtures
Today: Real Madrid v Getafe (5pm), Granada v Atletico Madrid (7:15pm), Valencia v Barcelona (9:30pm), Deportivo la Coruna v Sevilla (11pm), Real Betis v Celta Vigo (11:05pm) — AFP.
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