Two of Spain’s most famous football teams clash on matchday one of the all-new 2024/25 La Liga season, as Valencia welcome Barcelona to the Mestalla on Saturday evening.
By Nathan Evans
In truth, both of these sides will be hoping for much better this season as a new dawn beckons in Spain’s top-flight.
Valencia eventually finished in ninth spot last campaign though their supporters still remain at loggerheads with owner Peter Lim and for obvious reason. Under his stewardship of the club, Los Ches have stagnated and even despite the fact that up until pretty late into the campaign in 2023/24 the former Champions League regulars looked likely for a return to European competition, his time in charge has been extremely disappointing to say the least.
This summer, midfielder Yunus Musah has departed for Italian giants AC Milan for big money and thus far, the club’s business in terms of incoming talent remains relatively sparse for a side harbouring ambitions of finishing in the top seven. Pepelu has arrived as his direct replacement from Levante but again, Lim’s overall direction in the transfer market, to this point, has fallen well short of where a side like Valencia should be operating.
That’s something that Barcelona’s board have struggled with in recent times as well, the ability to operate in the transfer market to the level that they should be and in accordance with their club’s proud history.
As such, the 27-time Spanish champions are still in the midst of huge financial struggles and even though Dani Olmo has joined for a sizeable fee from RB Leipzig in recent weeks, the club’s inability to register him instantly once again left them open for ridicule from opposing fans.
Thankfully for Barca supporters, that potential disaster has now been averted and one of Spain’s stars during their Euro 2024 title win should be ready to start for them here at the Mestalla. He’ll also prove to be a vital cog throughout the season as they chase down rivals Real Madrid who finished on top last season and clear of the Catalan club by a whopping ten points.
That push for the top could prove incredibly difficult with Kylian Mbappé arriving in the capital, and although Barcelona should prove to be too strong for Valencia in this season opening fixture, new boss Hansi Flick could really struggle throughout the course of this campaign to get the better of Carlo Ancelotti at Real.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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