Flick stumbles at the start in Valencia?

Curtain up for Hansi Flick’s first competitive match as the new FC Barcelona coach. The former national team coach makes his debut at the weekend, with Barça facing Valencia FC on Sunday at 9:30pm on matchday 1 in La Liga. There are truly easier and more comfortable opening games than having to play at the Mestalla

Hansi Flick is set to lead Barça into a new era and back to success after club legend Xavi Hernandez was forced to resign in the summer after months of very opaque back and forth. What impression will the Catalans make in their first competitive game under the new manager? As the odds of the online bookmakers show ahead of Valencia vs. Barcelona, Flick’s eleven are surprisingly clear favorites to win

And that despite a heavy defeat in front of their own fans in the dress rehearsal a few days ago. Are Barça now also in danger of losing their first league game? Current form, statistics, head-to-head meetings – we take a look at all of this in this preview of the Valencia v Barcelona match, including betting odds, predictions, betting tips and team checks for both clubs

Valencia – Statistics & current form

Barcelona have changed their legendary coach, while Valencia FC have opted for continuity – for good reason. Club legend Ruben Baraja first saved Valencia from relegation in 2022/23 and even exceeded sporting expectations last season. The club, which had been chaotically managed by president Peter Lim for years, finished the season in a good 9th place and had nothing to do with the relegation zone for the entire season – on the contrary, with a young team consisting of many of their own talents, they even briefly played for a place in the European Cup at the end

Continuity at Valencia – Strong defensive record at the Mestalla 2023/24

Also due to the young average age of around 24.7 years, it will be exciting to see whether Valencia can repeat or confirm the upward trend of the previous season. The team remains largely the same, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who also attracted a lot of attention at the European Championship, likely to leave the club and provide the necessary transfer income. Valencia have already made provisions for this in the goalkeeper position and signed Stole Dimitrievski on a free transfer from Rayo Vallecano.

Otherwise, not much has happened on the transfer market, which is why it can be assumed that Valencia will have a similar season to last year. This means that the bats will again be uncomfortable to play against, especially at home. Emotions always run high at the Mestalla, especially when top teams visit.

In the end, Valencia only finished ninth in the home table, but only conceded 14 goals – the second fewest of all teams. Only champions Real Madrid had a better goal conceded record at home. We therefore do not expect them to concede too many goals. Anyone who believes that the home side can even keep a clean sheet in view of this record will receive a 4.75 for this Valencia vs Barcelona betting tip at Betano, although this assumption contradicts the recommendations in the top betting tip table.

Predicted Valencia line-up:

Barcelona – Statistics & current form

FC Barcelona have pressed the reset button on the coach’s seat, and the new era will begin in Catalonia on Sunday – if it becomes one at all. After Xavi Hernandez failed to win a title last season and had to leave after some hiccups, Hansi Flick is set to lead Lewandowski and Co. to success again

Barcelona lose 3-0 to Monaco – defeat in Valencia too?

The first impressions under Flick were also positive: on the preparation tour in the USA, Barça defeated Real Madrid in the Test Clásico, among others, and various youth players made a good impression. But on Monday, there was suddenly an unexpected and severe setback in the final endurance test: Barcelona lost the traditional season opener against AS Monaco in the “Trofeo Joan Gamper” with 0:3. “An important warning”, new captain Marc-André ter Stegen called the defeat: “Let’s hope it was just an accident”.

That will now become clear on Sunday evening in Valencia. Barça are threatened with a false start, as various regular players will still be missing at the Mestalla, including the convalescents Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Pedri.

Last season, the clash at the same venue only ended 1-1. Barça are also still missing many players due to training backlogs following European Championship and Olympic withdrawals, meaning that Flick’s new team is not yet well-rehearsed, as a number of youth players were used in preparation. And while Barça failed their last acid test, Valencia won theirs against Eintracht Frankfurt 3:2, so we expect a close and competitive match, as is always the case at the Mestalla. We are considering betting on a draw for Valencia vs Barcelona. Whether this would represent a point win or point loss for Flick in his first competitive game remains to be seen, depending on performance and interpretation.

It remains to be seen how exactly Flick will line up, the many young players he used had some problems against Monaco, let’s see which youth player who took part in the preparation will be allowed to start. However, we definitely don’t expect a self-runner, the favorite will have a hard time, which is why we would rather play the double chance X/2 as a hedge in the Valencia vs Barcelona prediction – in combination with another tip, such as both scoring or over/under goals.

Predicted Barcelona line-up:

Valencia – Barcelona head-to-head comparison / H2H result

Barcelona were unable to win at the Mestalla last season, only managing a 1-1 draw in December. The bats are always particularly motivated at home against top teams. Barça’s record at the Mestalla therefore speaks volumes, as it is completely even: 41 wins and 41 defeats at Valencia FC, 30 draws.

However, it is also true that Valencia have only won one of their last ten matches against Barça, a 2-0 victory in January 2020 at the Mestalla, of course.

Valencia – Barcelona betting tip

Will it be the expected tough, bumpy start for Barcelona in Hansi Flick’s new tenure? There are truly easier guest matches than in Valencia. We therefore expect a very competitive duel at eye level – an away win for the favorites Barcelona is not a foregone conclusion for us, even if the odds paint a clear picture for Valencia vs.

But it shouldn’t be that clear-cut on the pitch in the end. We wouldn’t even be surprised if Flick fails to win his first competitive game as Barça coach. The preparation was disrupted due to withdrawals for the European Championship and the Olympics, and several players were also missing through injury, meaning that many youth players had to play.

Barça are not yet familiar with the new Flick system. For this reason, we are cautious in our three-way betting tip and prefer to hedge against the loss of points. So our Valencia vs FC Barcelona prediction is: X/2 and both teams score. The Catalans’ back line was already vulnerable against Monaco last Monday