FC Barcelona will start the season this Saturday, August 17, with the visit to Valencia in Mestalla, from 9:30 p.m. (9:30 PM CEST). The match against the squad led by Rubén Baraja will be the first in official competitions for the Barça squad under the command of Hansi Flick, who seeks to reverse the situation of a team that last season finished 10 points behind the current champion, Real Madrid.

The German coach's project has generated a lot of enthusiasm among Barcelona fans, who were very satisfied with the team's good performance on the tour of the United States. However, Flick will face his first official match on the Blaugrana bench with several important casualties in his squad. (Araújo, De Jong, Gavi, Ansu due to injury, Olmo not being registered and Fermín due to vacation), so he is expected to put the best he has at his disposal on the field. Below is our lineup forecast:

Probable lineups for Valencia-FC Barcelona in LaLiga EA SPORTS 2024/2025

  • Valencia's XI: Mamardashvili, Correia , Mosquera, Tárrega, Vázquez; Guillamón, Pepelu; Javi Guerra, Diego López, Rafa Mir y Hugo Duro.
  • FC Barcelona's XI: Ter Stegen, Koundé, Eric García, Iñigo Martínez, Balde; Christensen, Casadó: Lamine, Gündogan, Raphinha y Lewandowski.

Ter Stegen

The German goalkeeper will protect the Barça goal for the ninth consecutive season as the undisputed starter, although this season will have a more special 'flavor'. After the departure of Sergi Roberto from the club, the German will become the captain of the first team a decade after having landed in Barcelona. More relevant than ever, Marc-André will seek to keep the goal at zero with his sights set on Zamora.

Koundé-Cubarsí-Iñigo-Balde

The Blaugrana defense suffered the significant loss of Ronald Araújo, who will be in dry dock, in principle, until the end of the year, so Iñigo Martínez will take his place at the back. The Basque earned Flick's trust in the preseason, which is why he would start from the beginning accompanied by Pau Cubarsí. On the sides, Koundé would maintain his place on the right wing, while Balde would return to the left side after missing the end of last year due to an injury.

Casadó-Christensen

The youth squad has 'emerged' as one of the team's great revelations during the preseason. For this reason, and in the absence of Frenkie de Jong, the footballer would take to the Mestalla field as a starter, accompanied by Christensen who has proven to be a more than reliable option in this area of ​​the field.

Lamine-Gündogan-Raphinha

Lamine Yamal will start the new campaign as an already established global star. The footballer will have more stripes in the team and will present his first test in his new role in Valencia. Gündogan would be positioned behind the forward, acting as a link and being in charge of creating the game thanks to his quality and vision. Finally, Raphinha would occupy the left wing in the absence of Dani Olmo who is not yet fit to play the 90 minutes.

Lewandowski

Finally, Lewandowski will face his third season in Barcelona with special motivation. The Pole showed the best version of himself under Flick's orders at Bayern Munich, so he arrives with renewed ambitions, promising more goals than in the last campaign and having greater 'weight' within the German coach's plans. Barcelona fans hope that he has a good day in front of goal, since this would represent a sure victory for the team.