High Hopes at the Start of the Season

Valencia, Todaysgist.com – Valencia hosts Barcelona on day La Liga’s first match at the Mestalla Stadium, Sunday (18/8/2024) 02.30 WIB. Both teams have high hopes. The hosts are determined to compete again in European competition, while Barcelona wants to reclaim the throne from Real Madrid.

Valencia, who have been out of the top flight of La Liga for a long time, are hoping to start the 2024-25 season on a positive note. Ruben Baraja’s side are looking to improve their form after a disappointing few seasons.

Last season, The Che finished ninth, far from any hope of returning to European competition. However, with the addition of new players brought in this summer such as Dani Gomez and Rafa Mir, the Bats have the potential to rise.

Unfortunately, Valencia is considered to have not found its best performance. Of the seven 2024 pre-season matches that have been played, Hugo Duro and his colleagues have only recorded two wins, namely over Benidorm and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Not to mention they have to lose several key players due to injuries, including Fran Perez, Mouctar Diakhaby, Jaume Domenech, and Jose Gaya. So, the opening match against Barcelona is predicted to be very difficult for Valencia.

On the other side, The Blaugranas came with great ambition after the change of coach from Xavi Hernandez to Hansi Flick. After becoming runner up Last season, the Catalan team was determined to reclaim the La Liga title.

Like Valencia, Barcelona showed a downward trend in the 2024 pre-season. After appearing good at the start of the pre-season, their performance The Cules decreased in the last match, namely losing to AS Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trofeo.

Barcelona also have injury problems. Key players such as Ronald Araujo, Ansu Fati, Gavi and Pedri are all certain to be out. Meanwhile, new signing midfielder Dani Olmo is unlikely to be available.

From the side head to headstronghold Blue Grana more favored to win. Barcelona has a record of four wins over Valencia, in the last five meetings. One other match ended in a draw.

Looking at the head-to-head record of both teams, Barcelona is clearly superior. However, Los Che has the potential to create problems for Barcelona. Especially if Valencia can exploit Barca’s back line. However, with the quality they have, Barcelona remains the favorite to win the match later.

Estimated line-ups:

Valencia: Giorgi Mamardashvili, Thierry Correia, Cristhian Mosquera, Cesar Tarrega, Dimitri Foulquier, Diego Lopez, Andre Almeida, Pepelu, Jesus Vázquez, Rafa Mir, Hugo Duro

Barcelona: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Hector Fort, Jules Kounde, Inigo Martínez, Alejandro Balde, Marc Casado, Andreas Christensen, Lamine Yamal, Ilkay Gundogan, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski