FC Barcelona, the opponent that resists Valencia Basket the most in European competitions

Valencia Basket men’s team returned to practicing this morning to begin preparations for the first of two away games they will face this week. They will once again take on FC Barcelona, but this time in a Round 3 EuroLeague matchup scheduled for Friday, October 10, at 8:30 p.m. The “taronja” team will have to double their efforts if they hope to repeat their recent win at the Palau Blaugrana — the arena they have visited most often in the EuroLeague without managing to secure a win. FC Barcelona is also the opponent against whom Valencia Basket holds its worst historical record among this season’s EuroLeague rivals (only a 20% win rate against the Catalan side in European competitions).

Palau Blaugrana, the toughest arena in the EuroLeague

There are six arenas among the current Turkish Airlines EuroLeague participants where Valencia Basket has never managed to win a continental competition game. Two of them — those of Paris Basketball and Dubai Basketball — will be visited for the first time this season. The FC Barcelona court is the one Valencia Basket has visited most often in European tournaments without achieving a positive result, holding a record of 0–5.

Previous EuroLeague games at the Palau Blaugrana
EuroLeague 2017–18. Regular Season. 89–71. Oriola (14) / Pleiss (13)
EuroLeague 2019–20. Regular Season. 83–77. Higgins (20) / Loyd (17)
EuroLeague 2020–21. Regular Season. 89–72. Abrines (16) / Labeyrie (17)
EuroLeague 2022–23. Regular Season. 85–71. Mirotic (18) / Harper (14)
EuroLeague 2023–24. Regular Season. 74–70. Vesely (17) / Jones (15)

Although the “taronja” team has also faced Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv six times away from home without earning a single win, only four of those games were played at Yad Eliyahu. In the 2003–04 EuroLeague season, the Israeli team was awarded a 20–0 victory after Valencia Basket failed to appear for the game, and the most recent encounter took place in Belgrade. The Valencia side has also failed to secure any positive result in its two visits to AS Monaco’s court, lost its only away matchup against Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv (played on neutral ground in Bulgaria during last season’s BKT EuroCup semifinals), and has yet to visit Paris or Dubai.

The toughest rival in continental competitions

In addition to never having won in Barcelona in European competition, Barça is the team against whom Valencia Basket holds its worst historical record among the current EuroLeague field. The Valencian and Catalan teams have only met in the EuroLeague, with two “taronja” victories and eight wins for the “azulgranas.” That 20% win rate represents Valencia Basket’s lowest historical percentage against any of its 19 EuroLeague opponents this season.