La Liga Preview: Barcelona - Valladolid

Barcelona's incredible run of consecutive victories may have come to an end in midweek, but confidence will be high that they can start on a new sequence when Real Valladolid visit Camp Nou on Saturday.

The atmosphere and camaraderie at the Catalan giants is so good under new coach Pep Guardiola that there was no sign of any disappointment on Friday morning as the squad met for the official photo call.

Instead, there was a lot of joking and smiling as the players proved that unexpectedly drawing against Basel in the Champions League has not changed their outlook or belief.

Eleven wins on the bounce saw the Blaugrana move to the top of the Spanish first division, while three straight wins in Europe meant that the draw in midweek was enough to see them qualify for the next round.

Guardiola's inexperience at the highest has actually been a blessing because he has learned no bad habits and came with only the expectation to fail and with his meticulous planning and desire that was never going to happen.

The former Barça playmaker's knowledge of the club, where he rose through the youth ranks as a player, and his year in charge of the B team meant that he knew exactly what was required and demanded.

Defeat on the opening day against newly-promoted Numancia came in stark contrast to a very encouraging pre-season campaign and there were some discouraging noises made when Racing Santander then earned a point at Camp Nou in the second game.

Only A Blip

Those displays proved only to be a blip as Guardiola made the required changes and gave the encouragement that was required and the third game of the season saw a run start that changed the minds of all the doubters.

When Rijkaard was en route to the domestic title and the Champions League, Barça boasted a devastating forward line and a mean defence and Guardiola's sysytem looks to be equal, if not better, than that side.

With 28 goals in the league scored and only eight conceded the Blaugrana are in first place, ahead of Villarreal, Real Madrid and Valencia, while eleven goals have been netted in the Champions League, with just three let in.

It is an enviable record and Valladolid have already stated that they are expecting a very tough game against the team that José Antonio García Calvo has described as currently the best in the world in the build-up.

The Castilla-León outfit were tipped to struggle in the summer, but they have made an encouraging start to the season and have already garnered ten points and lit safely in mid-table.

José Luis Mendilibar took over at the club after leaving Athletic Club de Bilbao and has more than rebuilt his reputation as he has actually improved upon it by lifting Valladolid into the top flight two seasons ago.

Normal predictions were made about how the team would make an immediate return to the second tier, but they ended up in 15th place and were able to build on their first year in the top flight.

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