Barcelona vs Valencia: 2024-25 La Liga Season Opener Preview

Barcelona's quest to return to the top of La Liga resumes on Saturday when the Blaugrana hit the road to face Valencia at Mestalla Stadium in the teams' 2024-25 season opener. After lifting the La Liga trophy in 2023, Barca dropped to second place last season, finishing 10 points behind rival Real Madrid. This season Barcelona will be playing their first season under new manager Hansi Flick, who most recently spent two years as manager of the German national team. Meanwhile Valencia are looking to improve upon their ninth-place finish from last season.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The Blaugrana are the -145 favorites (risk $145 to win $100) in the latest Barcelona vs. Valencia odds, with Los Ches the +380 underdogs. A draw is priced at +280, and the over/under for total goals scored is 2.5. Before you lock in your Valencia vs. Barcelona picks or La Liga predictions, you need to see what proven SportsLine soccer expert Martin Green has to say.

Barcelona's Young Star and Away Form

The Blaugrana have one of the brightest young stars in the game in Lamine Yamal. Just 17 years old, Yamal was the breakout player of Euro 2024, leading all players in assists (four) while also scoring a goal and helping Spain lift the trophy for a record fourth time. For his efforts he was named the Young Player of the Tournament.

In addition, Barcelona were one of the best away teams in La Liga last season. In 19 road matches, Barca won 11 times, drew six and lost twice. Their 39 away points ranked second in the league, behind only Real Madrid's 44.

Valencia's Key Players

Hugo Duro is coming off a career season for Los Ches. A 24-year-old center forward, Duro led Valencia last season in goals, with 13 on 63 shots. He was rewarded in the offseason with a contract extension that will keep him in Valencia through the 2027-28 season.

In addition, Los Ches have a rising star at goalkeeper in Giorgi Mamardashvili. Nicknamed the Georgian Wall for his shot-stopping prowess, Mamardashvili carried Georgia to a penalty-shootout victory over Greece in March to clinch the country's appearance in the European Championships, its first major international tournament. At Euro 2024, he led all goalkeepers in saves with 29 (11 more than his closest pursuer) and led Georgia to the knockout stage.

Expert Predictions and Betting Insights

Green has broken down the La Liga match from every possible angle. He is leaning Over on the goal total and has locked in two best bets, including one that would pay plus-money. He's sharing his La Liga picks and analysis only at SportsLine.

So who wins Barcelona vs. Valencia on Saturday, and where does all the betting value lie? Visit SportsLine now to see which wagers in Valencia vs. Barcelona have all the value, all from the soccer expert who is profitable across multiple leagues, and find out.

How To Watch Valencia vs Barcelona

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A Look at the Match-Up

The new season brings with it renewed optimism for both sides, as Valencia will try to push for a European finish, while Barcelona have the tough task of challenging Real Madrid for the title.

Los Che last finished in the top four back in 2019, and they will need a huge improvement if they are to move up from their ninth-placed finish last campaign. One positive for the club is that Spanish midfielder Javi Guerra remains with the team after a proposed move to Atletico Madrid broke down.

On the other side, Barcelona are now led by Hansi Flick after he replaced Xavi on the bench. The club have so far only brought in two new faces - Pau Victor and Dani Olmo - but don't expect the latter to feature on Saturday as he has yet to be registered.

The Blaugrana finished last season second, 10 points back of Real Madrid, but they will be hard-pressed to overthrow Los Blancos following their signing of Kylian Mbappe this summer.

Team News and Predicted Lineups

Valencia will definitely be missing four players as Fran Perez, Mouctar Diakhaby, Jaume Domenech and Jose Gaya remain sidelined with fitness issues carried over from lat season.

Cesar Tarrega could start in defence after spending last season out on loan at Real Valladolid, while Dimitrievski is expected to start in goal with Giorgi Mamardashvili set to leave the club before the end of the transfer window.

As for Barcelona, Dani Olmo will not play as he hasn't been registered with LaLiga yet. Ronald Araujo, Ansu Fati, Frankie de Jong and Gavi are all out, while Pedri remains a major doubt.

Lamine Yamal is expected to join Robert Lewandowski and Raphina in attack despite only recently returning to training after helping Spain win Euro 2024.

Valencia predicted XI: Dimitrievski; Correia, Mosquera, Tarrega, Ozkacar; Lopez, Guillamon, Guerra, Canos; Almeida; Duro

Barcelona predicted XI: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Christensen, Cubarsi, Balde; Gundogan, Casado, Torre; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha

Where To Watch Valencia vs Barcelona

For fans in the United Kingdom, Valencia vs Barcelona can be seen on Premier Sports and Amazon Prime Video. Fans in Ireland can tune in via Sky Ireland's Sports Extra pack.

US-based fans will be able to see Valencia vs Barcelona on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.

Valencia vs Barcelona is a 21:30 CET kick-off, which is local time in Spain. That means fans in the UK and Ireland will find the game starting at 20:30 GMT.

Fans in the USA can tune in to watch Valencia vs Barcelona at 15:30 ET / 12:30 PT.

Final Thoughts

This is a crucial match for both teams as they begin their campaigns in earnest. Barcelona will be looking to start their quest for the title on a strong note, while Valencia will be hoping to make a statement against one of the best teams in La Liga. It's sure to be an exciting match, and we can't wait to see how it unfolds.

The Barcelona vs Valencia Matchday Liveblog

Welcome to our liveblog from the Mestalla Stadium

Good evening everybody and welcome to another MARCA in English live blog, this time taking you through the LaLiga clash between Valencia and Barcelona from the Mestalla Stadium.

Key Stats and Insights

Barcelona drew 0-0 in their last two LaLiga season openers, in 2022 against Rayo Vallecano and in 2023 against Getafe - no team in history has drawn goalless on the opening day in three consecutive top-flight debuts.

Valencia have won their opening match in each of their last four LaLiga campaigns and have only previously won more league openers on one occasion (seven between 1945 and 1951).

As per Opta, Barcelona has only lost one of its last 16 matches against Valencia in LaLiga (10W 5D), 2-0 in January 2020, and none of the last eight league matches against Valencia (6W 2D).

Barcelona vs Valencia: A Matchday Experience

Flick has named his first starting XI in LaLiga

Ter Stegen; Koundé, Cubarsí, I. Martínez, Balde; Bernal, Casadó; Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Ferran; Lewandowski

Valencia have announced their starting lineup:

Mamardashvili, Thierry, Mosquera, Yarek, J. Vázquez, Pepelu, Javi Guerra, A. Almeida, Diego López, Rafa Mir, Hugo Duro

The Hansi Flick Era Begins at Barcelona

The Hansi Flick era at Barca gets underway with a trip to Mestella Stadium.

Former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick takes charge of his first competitive game for Barcelona on Saturday as the Blaugrana travel to Valencia in this opening weekend match of the new La Liga season.

Barca finished second last term, 10 points behind rivals Real Madrid, with Flick coming into the job under less than ideal circumstances. The Catalan giants are already in the midst of a major injury crisis that includes vice-captain Ronald Araujo, key midfielder Pedri and Dutch star Frenkie de Jong, while big summer signing Dani Olmo also looks unlikely to be available for today's game.

They come up against a Valencia side that finished in midtable under manager Ruben Baraja season, a big improvement over the disastrous previous campaign, which saw them flirt dangerously with relegation. That in turn has raised expectations of a higher finish this term for a club that's accustomed to regular European qualification.

Where and When to Watch Valencia vs Barcelona

Valencia host Barcelona at Mestalla Stadium on Saturday, Aug 17. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m CEST local time, making it a 3 p.m. ET, 12 p.m PT start in the US, an 8 p.m. start in the UK and a 5 a.m. AEST kickoff in Australia on Sunday.

Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game as it happens, wherever you are in the world.

The Best Ways to Watch Valencia vs Barcelona

Back in May, Hansi Flick signed a two-year deal to replace Xavi as Barcelona manager.

All Spanish topflight games are once again available to stream in the US via ESPN Plus, which has live English- and Spanish-language broadcast rights for La Liga in the states. Select games will also be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, with this match set to be shown live on ABC.

ESPN's standalone streaming service costs $11 a month or $110 for an annual subscription. Read our ESPN Plus review.

Using a VPN to Watch La Liga

If you find yourself unable to view La Liga matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

VPN Recommendation

ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month with code SPECIALDEAL, which should be automatically applied.

Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Where to Watch Valencia vs Barcelona in the UK

La Liga broadcast rights in the UK are once again with Premier Sports, which will be showing a minimum of five live matches per week from Spain's top league on its dedicated La Liga channel.

A subscription to just Premier Sports' dedicated La Liga channel costs £8 a month.

You can also get the channel via a full subscription to Premier Sports, giving you access to all of the networks' channels, which have the UK broadcast rights to Scottish Premiership matches, BKT United Rugby Championship and Investec Champions Cup rugby, plus NHL and NASCAR.

A full Premier Sports subscription costs £10 per month for Sky and Virgin TV customers. You can also get Premier Sports through Amazon Prime Video as an add-on for £15 a month.

Where to Watch Valencia vs Barcelona in Canada

TSN is the rights holder for live coverage of La Liga matches in the region, with select fixtures being shown on its linear channels, and a wider selection of games being shown on its TSN Plus streaming platform.

TSN Plus is a direct-streaming service that costs CA$8 a month and also offers coverage of PGA Tour Live golf, NFL games, F1, NASCAR and the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments.

Where to Watch Valencia vs Barcelona in Australia

Footy fans Down Under can once again watch La Liga fixtures live on BeIn Sports, which holds the live broadcast rights in Australia for Spanish topflight matches.

BeIn Sports is available in Australia for AU$15 a month or a yearly commitment of AU$130.

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