LIVE INFO
7-0
MATCH PREVIEW & MORE INFO
Barcelona : possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Fermin, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Real Valladolid: possible starting lineup: Hein; Perez, J Sanchez, Boyomo, Rosa; K Perez, Juric, Amallah; Ndiaye, Sylla, Moro
Match Preview
Barcelona will be looking to maintain their perfect start to the La Liga season when they face newly-promoted Real Valladolid on Saturday afternoon. The Catalan giants, now under the management of Hansi Flick, have begun the 2024-25 campaign strongly, winning all three of their matches so far, which has placed them at the top of the table with nine points.
Real Valladolid, on the other hand, have had a mixed start, sitting in 11th place with four points from their opening three games. Their return to La Liga after finishing second in the Segunda Division last season has been marked by a win against Espanyol, a tough loss to Real Madrid, and a goalless draw against Leganes.
Barcelona's strong start has been especially impressive given the number of injuries they've had to contend with. Key players like Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, and Gavi are all sidelined, with youngster Marc Bernal recently added to the injury list after suffering an ACL injury. Despite these setbacks, Flick has managed to guide his team to three victories, including a come-from-behind win against Rayo Vallecano, where Dani Olmo scored the decisive goal on his debut.
Flick is expected to make a few changes to the lineup, with Olmo likely to start after his impressive performance off the bench last time out. Fermin Lopez is also expected to replace the injured Bernal in midfield, while Alejandro Balde could return to the starting lineup in place of Gerard Martin.
Real Valladolid, meanwhile, are mostly injury-free, with Anuar Tuhami being their only notable absentee. They will be hoping to replicate their success from last season when they defeated Barcelona 3-1 in their last meeting. However, they haven't won at Camp Nou since 1997, making this a challenging fixture for Paulo Pezzolano's side.
Barcelona will be aiming to go into the international break with a perfect record, while Valladolid will be looking to cause an upset and build on their solid start to the season.