Valencia vs Barcelona

One of the standout fixtures in the opening week of the 2024-25 La Liga season will be held at Mestalla on Saturday night, where Valencia will host Barcelona.

Valencia aims to compete for a potential European qualification spot in Spain's top division this season, while Barcelona faces the daunting challenge of contending with reigning champions Real Madrid for the title in this new campaign.

Valencia, who have won La Liga six times, last claimed the title in 2004, but recent years have been challenging. In fact, Los Che have not finished in the top four since 2019, with their last five seasons ending in ninth, 13th, ninth, 16th, and ninth places.

Under Ruben Baraja, Valencia recorded 13 wins, 10 draws, and 15 losses in their 38 league games last season, accumulating 49 points and finishing in ninth place, eight points shy of seventh-placed Real Betis. Clearly, there’s room for improvement in the upcoming season.

Valencia had a busy summer with seven friendly matches, wrapping up their pre-season with a 3-2 victory against Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend.

This summer, Los Che made three signings: Dani Gomez and Rafa Mir arrived on loan from Levante and Sevilla, respectively, while Stole Dimitrievski joined the club on a free transfer from Rayo Vallecano.

Barcelona, meanwhile, has only added two players this summer: Dani Olmo, a Spanish star who is returning to Camp Nou from RB Leipzig, and Pau Victor, who joined on a permanent basis from Girona.

The La Liga powerhouses have been unsuccessful in their attempts to sign Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao thus far, but they are still determined to make a deal, and a lot of activity is anticipated at Camp Nou in the last hours of the transfer window.

After Xavi left to head Barcelona, Hansi Flick took over as manager. The German will be under pressure to lead the team to victory this season, but Real Madrid looks very strong once again, with the addition of Endrick and Kylian Mbappe to an already impressive roster.

The champion Real Madrid team, who finished the previous season as the clear favorites in Spain's premier division, had Blaugrana in second place in La Liga at the end of the season, 10 points behind them.

Barcelona comes into this game coming off a 3-0 Joan Gamper Trophy loss to Monaco; nevertheless, throughout their preseason activities, they were able to overcome Real Madrid and draw with both Manchester City and AC Milan.

Valencia is still struggling with injuries from the previous campaign, and Fran Perez, Mouctar Diakhaby, Jaume Domenech, and Jose Gaya are the four home team players who will miss this game due to fitness concerns.

After returning to Mestalla after a loan spell at Real Valladolid, Cesar Tarrega may start in the middle of defense. Dimitrievski is anticipated to make his goalkeeping debut since Giorgi Mamardashvili is expected to depart the team before the transfer window closes.

Mir has joined Valencia to increase their striker options for the upcoming season, but Hugo Duro—who led the line with assistance from Andre Almeida—is predicted to open the match against Barcelona on the bench. Duro scored 13 goals in the league the previous season.

Olmo, a Spanish international, will not be able to make his Barcelona debut this weekend since he is not yet registered with La Liga.

Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, and Gavi are all out due to injury; nevertheless, he is still a serious doubt and may start on the bench.