Valencia’s 2024–25 La Liga campaign begins on Friday night away at Celta Vigo, where they will be looking to recover from their opening-weekend loss to Barcelona.
The new season began with Los Che losing 2-1 to Barcelona while Celta triumphed 2-1 over Alaves, making the Sky Blues one of just four teams to win their La Liga opening.
After reaching 11th, 13th, and 13th in their previous three seasons, Vigo will be looking to finish in the top half for the first time since 2020–21, when Celta began their 13th consecutive season in the top flight of Spain.
On August 16, after Kike Garcia had given the visitors the lead in the 17th minute of play, Claudio Giraldez’s team got off to the ideal start in La Liga, defeating Alaves 2-1 with to goals from Williot Swedberg and Iago Aspas.
In the top division of Spain, Los Che have won five of the last seven meetings between Celta and Valencia, with the two games played in the 2023–24 season ending in a draw. Celta has not truly defeated Valencia since September 2020.
Borja Iglesias and Ilaix Moriba were signed by the Sky Blues on loan from Real Betis and RB Leipzig, respectively, and Unai Nunez joined on a permanent basis from Athletic Bilbao following a successful loan term.
After winning just six of their 19 league games at home in 2023–24, Celta will be trying to turn things around at home this season.
Hugo Duro, the top scorer from the previous campaign, headed a cross from Diego Lopez into the goal in the 44th minute to give Valencia the lead against Barcelona in their La Liga opener last weekend.
But Robert Lewandowski’s goal just before halftime tied the score, and the seasoned striker added his second early in the second half, allowing the visitors to take the lead.
Valencia, the six-time Spanish champions, may undoubtedly find some positives in their performance, but they once again don’t seem to be a threat to finish in the top four. Their last Champions League result in La Liga dates back to 2019.
It’s clear that Ruben Baraja’s team needs to improve there after losing 10 of their 19 away league games the previous campaign. It will be intriguing to watch if any more new players sign before the transfer window shuts.
