La Liga Tips: Barcelona to outlast Athletic in Flick's first home outing | OneFootball

Spanish LaLiga

Flick will want an energetic display in front of the Barcelona faithful

Jamie Kemp returns to preview the next round of fixtures in La Liga, starting with Hansi Flick's first competitive home game in charge of Barcelona...

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Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao - Sat, 18:00

Nico Williams to Barcelona was one of the transfer stories of the summer in Spain. The Catalan side desperately wanted him, but making the numbers add up and convincing him to leave was too tall an order in the end. Of course, they'll get to see him play at Montjuic on Saturday evening, albeit not in the shirt they were hoping for.

Athletic were held to a draw 1-1 by Getafe in their season opener, where they only managed one shot from inside the box and their only goal came from a long range effort by Oihan Sancet. With the aforementioned Williams only appearing for a cameo late on in the second half, Athletic struggled to make attacking inroads in his absence.

Things will be different should he get the nod to return to the XI in Barcelona, but whether it'll be enough to help guide Athletic to a result is another matter. Despite their strength at San Mames where they're a match for everyone in La Liga, replicating their home form on the road has been a sticking point for Ernesto Valverde. Athletic lost as many games as they won (7) away from home in La Liga last term, while their goal difference on the road was precisely zero (19 scored, 19 conceded).

Indeed, while making a habit of making life hard for Barcelona when they face each other in Bilbao, the reverse has happened whenever they tend to meet on the opposition's patch. Athletic haven't won away to Barcelona in La Liga since 2001, and they've had 22 attempts at doing so since then (D3 L19). They haven't scored a goal there on any of the last three trips either.

In what will be Hansi Flick's first competitive home game in charge, expect their intensity and collective commitment to be on point. And even if his side aren't fluent in possession, I'll back them to force the issue here and play the majority of the game in the opposition half, as they did in Valencia (3.2 xG). Young goalkeeper Alex Padilla impressed on his La Liga debut for Athletic last time out, but holding out the whole way looks a tall order.

Espanyol v Real Sociedad - Sat, 20:30

One of the shocks of the opening weekend was Rayo Vallecano's victory away at Real Sociedad; a place where not many visiting teams go and take all three points. Rayo finished just one spot above the relegation zone last season, and 22 points behind the side they managed to beat in their 2024-25 opener. Not many would have backed an away win.

Ultimately, it was Rayo's energetic pressing that served to disrupt Real Sociedad and set the table for a shock result. Inigo Perez's side were brave, and knowing Martin Zubimendi wasn't in the XI after a turbulent summer being linked with Liverpool, set about making it an uncomfortable day for the favourites. They managed it, and along with taking their chances, sprung the upset.

For Espanyol, taking the best bits of what Rayo did won't be all that viable however. The home side aren't particularly engineered to press, and took a rather submissive approach against Real Valladolid in their opening day defeat. After falling behind, the Catalan side also looked rather blunt in attack and were way short on individual inspiration. If they find themselves behind here, breaking down one of La Liga's best defences over a number of years will be a brutal task.

With Martin Zubimendi likely drafted back into the XI for this one, I expect we'll see Real Sociedad looking a lot more like themselves on MD2. Imanol Alguacil's side rarely have to play without their midfield organiser, and his presence alone should give them plenty of assurance in righting the ship here.

La Real were unbeaten against the promoted sides last season (W4 D2), while winning the last three in a row. And against an Espanyol side who look short on La Liga quality, the visitors should be too accomplished for them on the night, even if they don't score much (six goals in last seven La Liga games).

Real Madrid v Real Valladolid - Sun, 16:00

Well, that wasn't a very good start for Real Madrid. After taking a first half lead at Mallorca through Rodrygo and producing some scintillating spells of football in the process, their eventual 1-1 draw was the story of a team who lacked control and balance in a way we haven't seen for some time. After the game, Carlo Ancelotti sent a very clear warning to his side that defending is the responsibility of everyone, not just a few.

Of course, Real Madrid were always going to experience some teething problems following the arrival of Kylian Mbappe and the loss of Toni Kroos. They can no longer play the way they used to, and the dial has naturally been shifted towards attack. Whether they can find the balance they need without changing the XI is one thing, but the question of whether they'll need it to get by most weeks in La Liga is another thing.

In their first home game of the campaign, I expect the latter to come into play a lot more. Mallorca away was no easy landing for them but newly-promoted Real Valladolid at the Santiago Bernabeu should be the real presentation for Mbappe and co.

Valladolid did win their opening game of 2024-25, but that came at home to a fellow promoted side in the form of Espanyol - and a poor Espanyol at that. Manolo Gonzalez's side were probably the least inspiring side on MD1 of the new campaign, while the hosts narrowly edged a game in which neither created much in attack (0.8 - 0.7 on xG).

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