1 Valencia vs 2 FC Barcelona
Barcelona to begin title-chase in season opener against Valencia.
Valencia CF, aiming to improve upon their mid-table finish last season, kick off their 2024–25 La Liga campaign against title-aspirants Barcelona in a thrilling season opener at Mestalla Stadium this Saturday at 20:30 [GMT+1].
Valencia
Valencia will begin their La Liga campaign on home soil against Barcelona this Saturday, hoping to start on a high note. Rubén Baraja, appointed in February 2023, guided the team to a ninth-place finish last campaign, an improvement on the previous season's sixteenth-place finish.
The 49-year-old manager will now look to build on this trajectory, aiming to lead the team back to European places for the first time since the 2018–2019 season. Los Che have added three new players to their squad this summer, bringing in Dani Gómez and Rafa Mir on loan from Levante and Sevilla, respectively, while Stole Dimitrievski signed on a free transfer from Rayo Vallecano.
They have also retained key players from last season, including Spanish midfielder Javi Guerra, whose proposed move to Atletico Madrid fell through earlier this month. Valencia experienced a poor pre-season outing, winning just two of seven friendlies. However, their 3-2 victory over Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in their final match offers a positive takeaway, one they will look to draw inspiration from when they take on Barcelona this weekend.
Los Che will aim to end an unpleasant record that has seen them win just one of their last 17 home games in the league against the visitors. A 4-4-2 formation is expected with Rafa Mir and Hugo Duro, the club's top scorer in the past season, in attack.
FC Barcelona
Meanwhile, Barcelona is now under the management of Hansi Flick, following the dismissal of Xavi in May. The German manager faces significant pressure to drive a title challenge this season, especially after the Catalans finished second last campaign, 10 points behind arch-rivals Real Madrid, who claimed the league title.
It has been a slow transfer window for Barcelona, having signed just two players: midfielder Dani Olmo from Leipzig for €55 million and centre-forward Pau Víctor from Girona for €2.7 million. However, they failed to land their main target, Nico Williams, who decided to remain with Athletic Club, ending hopes of reuniting him with fellow Spanish teammate Lamine Yamal this summer.
Barcelona head into their league opener against Valencia after a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy. However, they did manage to secure a win over Real Madrid and draws against Manchester City and AC Milan in previous pre-season games.
Flick could deploy a 4-3-2-1, with Robert Lewandowski in attack. Pau Víctor, who was in fine form for Barca in pre-season, is expected to come off the bench.
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