Three talking points ahead of Valencia vs Barcelona – La Liga GW1

Barcelona’s La Liga campaign begins late on Saturday night, and the team could not have asked for a worse way to kickstart the season.

Taking on Valencia at Mestalla, the Catalans will face a stern test at one of La Liga’s most iconic stadiums, one that they have had a mixed record in recent years.

Barcelona have won only two of their last six games against Valencia at Mestalla with their most recent meeting at the venue ending in a 1-1 draw.

There is, needless to say, no dearth of hype ahead of the club’s curtain-raiser in La Liga, especially considering the big changes that the Blaugrana have seen over the summer.

The team’s new signing Dani Olmo will play no part on the night after the manager confirmed that he was not fit enough to play. In what comes as big news for the team, however, Pedri could make his return in some capacity at Mestalla.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Valencia vs Barcelona.

The Flick era begins

Coming into the new season, the biggest change for Barcelona is undoubtedly the new management taking over at the club.

After a comprehensive run with Xavi Hernandez, Joan Laporta and Co. decided that the club legend’s management had run its course and sacked him towards the end of last season.

The man appointed in his place, Hansi Flick, officially oversaw his first training session with the club just over a month ago.

After completing the team’s pre-season tour in the United States and the Joan Gamper clash, the German tactician is finally set to oversee his first official game as the manager of Barcelona.

The Catalans’ clash against Valencia, thus, will mark the beginning of a new era and it remains to be seen if Flick can make it one to remember. After all, he brings with him a revamped system and new dynamics for the team.

Barcelona, as one of football’s elite clubs, offers a very narrow margin for managers to tread on. Instant results and success are non-negotiable at the club and it will be interesting to see if Flick can get the team to put the Gamper Trophy result behind them and gun down a win in his first official game.

The double-pivot setup

Flick, over the years, has been a constant advocate of using double-pivots to maintain defensive integrity especially when oppositions look to counter.

His Bayern Munich gunned down a special sextuple using the same ideology and the manager looks set to implement it in Catalonia as well.

Come Saturday, Andreas Christensen and Marc Casado could thus start as the double pivot with Ilkay Gundogan joining them in midfield.

Behind them, the defensive quartet of Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez and Alejandro Balde is likely to start.

With Ronald Araujo injured, the team’s defence does appear moderately compromised. The double pivot and the defensive quartet, needless to say, will be critical in determining the final result.

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s form, simultaneously, will be finely observed after his howler of a performance on Monday against Monaco.

All eyes on the final third

The Joan Gamper Trophy defeat to Monaco taught Barcelona and Flick several lessons, but the takeaway from the final third was the most important by far.

Robert Lewandowski, who started the game as the number nine, was simply horrendous in the Monaco box with both his movements and shots.

The Polish striker often dropped deep into midfield hoping to contribute to the build-up play, and in the end, seldom got into scoring positions of real threat. Heading into the clash against Valencia, there is growing pressure on the Pole.

Lewandowski must thus hit the ground running at Mestalla tomorrow, at least with a positive influence in the final third if not a direct goal contribution. After all, Flick sees his experience to be a very valuable tool.

While the spotlight will shine bright on Lewandowski, a lot of attention will also be on Lamine Yamal who is expected to start on the right wing. Heading into his first season as a first-team core player, it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure.