The Spanish Laliga kicks off for the 2024/25 season with a match between Athletic Bilbao vs Getafe and Real Betis vs Girona later in the evening. The fixture between Valencia and Barcelona appears to be one of the most exciting fixtures in the first week of this season. Asides the joy of having football back and of watching our different teams in a competitive outing for the long expected 2024/25 season, many would itch to experience the clash of one of the biggest names in the leagues; Valencia and Barcelona, a very historic encounter between the two.

While the league kicks off on 15th of August, 17th of August will witness this historic clash as the 6times champions of the Spanish Laliga hosts the 26times champions of Laliga at Estadio de Mestalla (Valencia) on Saturday 17th August, 2024 in the opening fixtures of Laliga 2024/25 season.

The Catalan side Barcelona kicks off one of their most anticipated season since the end of their golden generation squad. They will look to return to dominance and prominence, which they once enjoyed in football. One of the eras they enjoyed the most was the time they had Pep Guardiola as their head coach. That era saw Barcelona enjoy the game the most, they have the possession to their advantage, the have the technicality, they were clinical as well with the chances they were able to create with their tiki-taka style of play and the rest. That era witnessed the front three of Pedro, David Villa, and Messi. This era also saw the departure of the likes of Ronaldinho the Brazilian superstar and the introduction of Lionel Messi, this era also witnessed the Thierry Henry one of the greatest French men to have played for Barcelona, Eto’ o. these were men renowned players who are very clinical with every opportunity set before them. This era saw one of their best midfield combination of Iniesta, Xavi, and Busquets. This midfield broke down strong teams and drawn the big teams. This was the midfield that brought to lime light the tiki-taka pattern of play. However, they were so effective with nice vision. Transition in play was not a problem for this midfield. Good dribblers and passers both long and short, hardworking, with good pace, control, and accuracy. A midfield that can create chances and score as well. Barcelona has however suffered since this end of this dynasty as they who were the breaker of strong teams and the mesmerizer of big teams lost their vigor and began to suffer what they had at some point of their history meted out to other teams. One of their most agonizing defeat was their 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in 2020 in the Champions League. However, with the advent of the new season with new manager and many promising talents in the squad, they will be all eager to begin another Golden generation of their history. Though they are still assembling the talents to make this a reality, they will have high hopes for it achievement with the introduction of Hansi Flick as their new head coach. He is renowned for his success at Bayern Munich. He was one of the coaches who had an unbeaten run in the Champions League until the end of the campaign. With such quality as and with the likes of Yamal, their new signing Olmo, Pedri, and Gavi in midfield, their expectations are pretty high. They will have more reason to be hope as well as the new coach seems to be revive one of their famous wonder boy who was thought to be the replacement of Lionel Messi before he fell off the picking order due to injury and fall in performance. If Hansi Flick succeeds with this agenda and revives Ansu Fatti, his combination with Yamal will be fatal for the opposition team. With lots of expectation on this team, they are tipped to start up their new season at a very level as they meet with Valencia on Saturday to set Hansi Flick’s era up and running.

Valencia had a fair share of good performance last season and though it was not a dream season for the Spanish side but they were able to get something out of the season, finishing 9th with 49 points after 38 games. They were able to win 13 games, drew 10 games, and lost 15 matches, which is not characteristic of them. Their performance last season saw them finish the league with -5 goal difference after they conceded 45 goals and were able to score only 40 goals. This highlights one of their main problems last season which was the fact which was that they were defensively ineffective as they kept were few clean sheet last season most of which came from a 1-0 win or 0-0 draw. They had problems last season in the frontline and at the backline as putting the ball at the back of the net was a big problem for them, keeping the ball out of their own net was a problem for them as well. However. With the summer transfer window, they are set to solve some of the problems they once experienced and return to the prominent club they used to be, winning games at every front. Thus, they have secured the signature of a new centre forwards Dani Gómez and Rafa Mir (on loan) and goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski to help solve their problems upfront and defensively. They have also seen the return of two center backs who were out on loan last season Eray Cömert and César Tárrega as well as the right winger Samu Castillejo with all these aimed at returning them to the top where they belong and Rubén Baraja Valencia’s head coach will do his best to return them to glory this season as one of their desires this season will be to return to European action next season with Champions League action their target as they feel that that is where they belong.

These two teams have met themselves more than ones on different competitions 37times. Barcelona has had the better part of this tie as they have won 22times in this fixture and had to share the points 11times. Valencia have been a victim of this tie as they have been able to win only 4matches in this tie. Their last win came on 25 January 2020 from a 2-0 win as Maximiliano Gomez’s brace gave them the win. However, Barcelona have lots of advantage in this tie, but they will have to work and not rely on statistical dominance as they will be meeting a team with renewed enthusiasm at the dawn of a new season. Valencia will have to fight back the much they can in this tie thought the odds are not in their favor, having had a set out goal for the season, the first game of the season will help them set the tone for that and a good performance and possibly a win over Barcelona will increase their momentum and leave them motivated as they go into the new season.

It is going to be a whole lot of thrilling events as Barcelona players will be all out to impress the new manager and gain a spot in the start XI. From the home side, they will want to send a clear message as at the start of the season, we want to win more games, score more goals, and concede fewer goals as possible this season.

Best Bet: Barcelona Win or draw

Correct Score: 1-2