Atletico travel to Valencia in highlight of La Liga’s opening weekend

The pick of the first round of La Liga matches sees Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid travel to Valencia.

Fans of Valencia and Atletico Madrid have to wait until Monday evening for their La Liga 2018-19 season to begin, with kick-off at 8 p.m. local time.

Under Marcelino, Valencia finished last season in fourth position, enabling them to feature in this season’s Champions League, while Atletico came six points ahead of them in second place, behind champions Barcelona.

Both teams will be eager to replicate their league form this time around, with a much stronger challenge from Real Madrid anticipated, and pressure from below coming in the form of Sevilla, Real Betis and Villarreal.

Getting off to a good start could be crucial to gaining momentum, while new signings including Thomas Lemar for Atletico and Michy Batshuayi for Valencia will want to make a good early impression.

Key battles

Valencia’s summer recruit in midfield, Geoffrey Kondogbia, signed from Inter Milan, will have his work cut out competing with the gifted Saul Niguez and Koke, with Lemar also drifting inside and potentially Thomas Partey, should the Ghanaian be selected. He will need to use all of his considerable power and strength to come out on top.

Forward Rodrigo scored 16 La Liga goals last season, but will have the task of beating defensive pair Diego Godin and one of Stefan Savic and Jose Gimenez. Atletico’s defense is world-renowned for being a solid base for their attackers to build on, but getting the points will depend on Valencia finding a way through.

Batshuayi is another option in attack, after he signed on loan from Chelsea having been at Borussia Dortmund last season. Should either Rodrigo or Batshuayi — or indeed any other Valencia player — get past their formidable defense, they’ll then have to beat Jan Oblak between the sticks.

Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista, formerly of Arsenal, had a tough time against Diego Costa when the Spanish forward played for Chelsea, and he will need to be on top form to stop the powerful striker from dictating the game. Gabriel will have to remain disciplined and keep his cool in the heat of the battle.

Costa, of course, is by no means Atletico’s only attacking threat, with Antoine Griezmann also up front, usually playing just off him.

The French World Cup star might not be back at full tilt after his summer exertions, but having just been named the joint-captain of his club side, he will want to make an impression early on.

Atletico were relieved to be able to keep hold of Griezmann in the summer, and he will no doubt be important for them should he start or come off the bench.

Previous meetings

The last time Atletico conceded a goal against Valencia was in 2016, when Russian World Cup hero Denis Cheryshev scored in a 3-1 home defeat.

Valencia have not won against Atletico since October 2014; since then, they’ve drawn twice and been beaten on five occasions, conceding 12 times in that period.

Last season, the game ended goalless in September when these two teams met at the Mestalla. Atletico were victorious by one goal to nil in February when it was their turn to host.

Neutrals will be hoping to see a few more goals this time around.