Hansi Flick will oversee his first league game as Barcelona manager on Saturday evening, expected to bring with him an expansive, aggressive playstyle.

The Barcelona players have so far struggled to adapt to his demands in pre-season, registering one win, two draws and one loss.

In those games, Barcelona have conceded eight goals.

Valencia can certainly cause Barcelona problems on the break, and they managed to get on the scoresheet in both H2H fixtures last season.

Barcelona will have to contend with injuries to Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo, which leaves them a bit light in midfield and defence.

However, with the plethora of attacking talent on hand, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are expected to start.

With Barcelona not yet at full strength, under new management, it’s an ideal time for Valencia to capitalise and get on the scoresheet at least.

Lewandowski will have fond memories of the last time he faced Valencia, as he bagged a hat-trick to overcome a half-time deficit.

In that game, however, Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had been sent off just before half-time, leading to Los Ches sitting extremely deep, and inviting pressure.

Lewandowski was able to fully capitalise, with five shots, all five on target and three goals.

Barcelona were less fortunate in the reverse fixture in Valencia, as they were held to a 1-1 draw despite accumulating 3.42 xG to just 0.54 xGA.

Lewandowski also managed 5 shots in that game, with three on target. He accrued 0.74 xG alone, although to no avail as he failed to score.

Lewandowski finished the season with 1.4 shots on target per 90 for Barcelona in La Liga, the highest average in the squad.

Shifting over to the opposition striker, Hugo Duro is expected to start alongside summer signing Rafa Mir.

Hugo Duro topped the scoring charts for Valencia last season with 13 goals. He also managed the most shots in the squad, averaging 2.0 shots per 90.

Duro was on the scoresheet last time out against Barcelona, as he netted within 30 minutes to equalise. In that game, he had two shots, with both on target.

In the reverse fixture at home, he failed to have a shot on target, but recorded three shots, suggesting it is a positive matchup for him.

Under Hansi Flick, Barcelona are likely to deploy a much higher and more aggressive defensive line than under Xavi. With Rafa Mir the more physical presence, Duro will look to play off him and get in behind. It’s an ideal matchup for him to look to exploit.

Pepelu played the most minutes for Valencia in La Liga last season, starting in the heart of midfield. He is expected to adopt a similar role alongside Hugo Guillamon.

He made a foul in 27/37 games last season in the league, at an average of 1.39 fouls per 90 minutes.

When filtering to home games, that average rises to 1.53 per 90, with one foul registered against Barcelona. Also, he made fouls in similar matchups against Real Madrid (3 fouls) and Atletico Madrid (2 fouls)

Pepelu will likely find duels with the prodigy Lamine Yamal as he cuts inside. The winger drew 1.41 fouls per game last season.

Pepelu did not commit a foul in the most recent H2H game against Barcelona, although that can be attributed to the red card. Valencia sat extremely deep, unable to progress or see much of the ball. Barring any similar circumstances, Pepelu should find ample duels in the midfield.

Despite an underwhelming tenure as the German national coach which saw Germany eliminated in the group stages at the World Cup, Hansi Flick is an elite manager.

In the last seven H2H fixtures with Valencia, Barcelona have won six. The only failure was a draw at the Mestalla Stadium. Despite the result, Barcelona had the clear supremacy, accumulating 3.24 xG from 16 shots compared to just 0.54 xGA.

Barcelona finished second in La Liga last season, ten points off Real Madrid. Getting off to a positive start is absolutely vital.

Despite not featuring in pre-season, Lamine Yamal is expected to return to the starting XI following his heroics at Euro 2024. That should give Flick a full-strength frontline, with Yamal, Lewandowski and Raphinha all available.

Lewandowski netted a hat-trick in the reverse fixture, albeit while Valencia were a man down. That in itself should fill him with confidence for this encounter.

The Polish international had his highest-scoring campaign under the management of Hansi Flick in the 2020/21 season. He scored 41 goals in just 29 Bundesliga appearances.

Under Hansi Flick in total, Lewandowski bagged 83 goals in 71 games.

Lewandowski managed 19 goals in La Liga last season, a slight downturn following 23 goals in the season prior. However, with Hansi Flick taking over, the tactical system should look to cater to his strengths a bit more.

Lewandowski will be the penalty-taker, which is an additional component to consider. Barcelona were awarded seven penalties last season, the fourth-most in the league, with Lewandowski converting four of those. He has an impressive penalty conversion rate of 89% over his career, so will be the man to step up should the situation arise.

Guillamon is predicted to start alongside Pepelu, and take a lot of defensive responsibility in regards to breaking up Barcelona attacks.

The French midfielder was not a mainstay in the starting XI last season, but when he did start, he made 2+ fouls in 8/12.

He also has a fantastic record for fouls against Barcelona, racking up 2.51 fouls per 90. Guillamon has been called for two or more infringements in each of his last five games against Barcelona.

Guillamon is an aggressive presser, strong in duels. In midfield, he is tasked with covering a lot of ground, leading to such high foul counts. He managed 36 fouls last season from just 1315 minutes (equivalent to 14.6 90s) – an average of 2.48 fouls per 90, which was comfortably the highest in the squad.

Now he will be tasked with dealing with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Raphinha, who drew 1.26 and 1.63 fouls per 90 respectively last season.

With Valencia extremely likely to sit in a deep block, the importance of Raphinha increases exponentially, given his proficiency in tight spaces.

The Brazilian managed four shots in total in this fixture last season, with three shots on target. In the reverse fixture at the Nou Camp, he recorded one shot on target.

Raphinha finished the season with the second-highest shots per game (2.11), only beaten by Lewandowski.

Joao Felix has returned to his parent club Atletico Madrid, while Fermin Lopez was a big part of Spain at the recent Olympics. With that in mind, Raphinha should be in for an extended run on Saturday evening, with greater minutes expected.

He only played the full 90 minutes on four occasions in the league last season, but managed a shot on target in all four, with 2+ shots on target in two of those games.

In a favourable matchup, Raphinha is one to watch in the attacking third.