La Liga: Barca face Athletic Bilbao demons on opening day

Barcelona won’t have to wait long to try to correct the errors that saw them lose the Spanish Super Cup to Athletic Bilbao as they return to San Mames on Sunday in their La Liga opener.

The European champions were thrashed 4-0 in Bilbao just a week ago as an under-manned Catalan defence failed to cope with the presence of Aritz Aduriz, who struck a hat-trick and then also netted in the return as the Basques won the final 5-1 on aggregate.

Barca coach Luis Enrique has even more defensive problems as his side look for revenge on league duty.

Gerard Pique has been banned for four matches after being sent off in Monday’s 1-1 draw in the return leg of the Super Cup for verbally abusing the match officials.

Jordi Alba remains a doubt with a hamstring injury, while Neymar hasn’t returned to training since he was diagnosed with the mumps two weeks ago.

The coach must also decide who to play in goal. Claudio Bravo made his first appearance of the campaign in the home game against Athletic after Marc-Andre ter Stegen had been selected for the first two matches of the season in which Barca conceded eight times.

Bravo was the number one in La Liga last season, while Ter Stegen kept guard in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

“It would be nice for me to play in La Liga, but I don’t know if I will. It is a decision that the coach has to take. For the moment, we need to train and work hard.” said Ter Stegen.

“Pique is an important player for us, we will miss him, but we have to try and do our best without him.”

Athletic have injury problems of their own with Inaki Williams and Ander Iturraspe doubtful and they could pay physically for a busy schedule over the past week as, after a parade through Bilbao to celebrate their first trophy for 31 years, the Basques were back in action in the Europa League on Thursday away to MSK Zilina in Slovakia.

Real Madrid begin life under Rafael Benitez away to newly-promoted Sporting Gijon on Sunday.

Los Blancos have had a less than impressive pre-season, adding to doubts over whether Benitez was the right man to replace the popular Carlo Ancelotti after a season in which Madrid failed to win a major trophy.

“I saw plenty of positives and if we play like that I will be happy, but we still have plenty of margin to improve which is positive,” said Benitez after Marcelo’s late winner saw off Galatasaray in their final friendly in midweek.

Benitez is likely to be without both Pepe and Karim Benzema as they have missed the majority of pre-season through injury, so Gareth Bale could be paired with Cristiano Ronaldo in attack with the Welshman expected to play in a more central role this season.

Given Real’s unusually quiet summer in the transfer market and Barcelona’s ban on registering players, it is 2014 champions Atletico Madrid who have been the biggest spenders in the close season.

Diego Simeone’s men look well prepared to launch another bid for the title thanks to the signings of Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto from Porto and Villarreal respectively to complement Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres in attack.

Atletico face another newly-promoted side in Las Palmas at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday as the islanders make their return to the top flight for the first time in 13 years.

Valencia got their season off to a flying start with a 3-1 win over Monaco on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League play-off, but face a tricky trip to Rayo Vallecano for their league opener.

Malaga and Sevilla have the honours in getting the league season underway as they face off on Friday night in an Andalusian derby.

Fixtures (all times GMT)

Friday

Malaga v Sevilla (1830)

Saturday

Deportivo la Coruna v Real Sociedad, Espanyol v Getafe (both 1630), Atletico Madrid v Las Palmas (1830), Rayo Vallecano v Valencia (2030)

Sunday

Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona (1630), Sporting Gijon v Real Madrid (1830), Levante v Celta Vigo (2000), Real Betis v Villarreal (2030)

Monday

Granada v Eibar (1830)

Arsenal look sharp, says Liverpool midfielder James Milner

Liverpool midfielder James Milner claims Monday’s clash with Arsenal is the perfect opportunity to test his side’s improvement since last season.

Brendan Rodgers’ team have been widely written off as also-rans in this season’s title race after limping to a sixth place finish that saw the Reds trail in 25 points behind champions Chelsea last term.

The departure of star forward Raheem Sterling to Manchester City and the continued fitness problems of England striker Daniel Sturridge have also played a role in Liverpool’s low approval rating.

But the Reds have made a quietly encouraging start and head to the Emirates stadium in third place after grinding out 1-0 wins over Stoke and Bournemouth.

Arsenal slumped to a 2-0 home defeat against West Ham before getting back on track with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

And Milner, a close-season signing from Manchester City, believes Liverpool will get the kind of stern examination in north London that should indicate how much they need to improve to challenge for the title.

“They look sharp,” Milner said. “They had a disappointing result in their first game against West Ham but they are a quality team and will want to bounce back from that and try to get their run going.”

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is a doubt for the Arsenal game due to a foot injury.

Rocked by their surprise loss to West Ham, Arsenal looked more composed and clinical against Palace and German defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how clear-the-air talks helped them kick-start their campaign.

“Obviously when everything goes very smooth in pre-season, you avoid those talks. But there was a need for it when we came out of the (West Ham) match,” he said.

“You could already feel something when you are in the relegation zone, and not having produced what everyone expected from you, so it was important to bounce back.

“Against Palace it was a very encouraging performance from top to bottom.”

Arsenal’s early inconsistency is nothing in comparison to the dismal start made by Chelsea, who have endured their worst opening for 17 years after a 2-2 draw against Swansea and then a 3-0 thrashing at Manchester City.

Blues boss Jose Mourinho has acted swiftly by signing Pedro Rodriguez — the Barcelona winger who ignored Manchester United’s interest to move to Stamford Bridge — and Ghana left-back Baba Rahman from Augsburg.

With Pedro and Rahman potentially in line for debuts at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic has no doubts his team will soon bounce back from lacklustre opening he blames on the earlier than usual start to the season.

The kick off was moved to August 8 to give England manager Roy Hodgson extra time to prepare his side for Euro 2016.

“Those 10 days in terms of preparation between what we did last year and this year make a difference and is maybe a problem,” Matic said.

“This is football. We have to cope with that. I feel in training that everyone is hungry, everyone wants to win the title. We know what we have to do.”

Early pace setters Manchester City will look to maintain their 100 percent record when the leaders travel to Everton on Sunday.

Fourth placed Manchester United, who host Newcastle on Saturday, have also won their first two fixtures, as well as defeating Club Brugge in a midweek Champions League play-off first leg tie.

None of those matches featured a goal from captain Wayne Rooney, but the England striker is confident of getting off the mark soon.

“It’s early on in the season. I’ve experienced this (criticism) before and the goals will come, I know that,” Rooney said.

“I understand I have to be the one who’s going to lead that line and try and find the goals for us.”

Fixtures (1400 GMT unless stated)

Saturday

Crystal Palace v Aston Villa, Leicester v Tottenham, Manchester United v Newcastle (1145 GMT), Norwich v Stoke, Sunderland v Swansea, West Ham v Bournemouth

Sunday

Everton v Manchester City (1500 GMT), Watford v Southampton (1500 GMT), West Brom v Chelsea (1230 GMT)

Monday

Arsenal v Liverpool (1900 GMT)

Otamendi signs on for Manchester City

Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi has signed for Manchester City, the Premier League side announced on Thursday after a deal was agreed with his current side Valencia.

The 27-year-old has signed a five-year contract although no financial details of the transfer were released.

Otamendi will bolster central defensive ranks at City that include two familiar faces in former Porto team-mate Eliaquim Mangala and international colleague Martin Demichelis, as well as captain Vincent Kompany.

Otamendi told the club’s website, www.mcfc.co.uk: “I am here to give my best, to fight game by game and push City to the highest peaks for as long as possible, and I wish we will be able to win several cups and titles.

“That’s most important. To be here inside a club that looks so wonderful from the outside is a dream.”

Valencia were believed to be hoping to use the sale of the player to write off part of the fee they still owe City for striker Alvaro Negredo.

Otamendi joined the Spanish club from Porto just a year ago. Initial reports at the weekend claimed Valencia wanted to offset his loss by signing Mangala on loan in exchange but City had no intention of allowing the Frenchman to leave Eastlands.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini said: “Nicolas Otamendi was arguably the best defender in La Liga last season and so naturally I’m delighted to have added a player of his quality.

“He is an established international for one of the best nations in world football and I have no doubt that he has the right mentality to fit into a squad where he will find many familiar faces, including Eliaquim and Fernando who he played alongside in Portugal.”

Otamendi has 25 caps for Argentina and was a member of the side that reached the Copa America final in the summer alongside new City team-mates Demichelis, Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta.

United's Van Gaal confident despite Pedro snub

 Louis van Gaal is adamant Manchester United remain on course for a successful season despite Pedro Rodriguez’s decision to snub a move to Old Trafford in favour of joining Chelsea.

Van Gaal had hoped to unveil Barcelona winger Pedro as his latest new recruit this week after United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward flew to Spain to finalise the deal.

But the Spain international had a late change of heart and opted for a switch to Premier League champions Chelsea instead.

It was another transfer blow for United manager van Gaal, who also recently missed out on top defensive target Sergio Ramos after the Spaniard decided to stay at Real Madrid.

But van Gaal sees no reason to panic because fourth placed United, who host Newcastle on Saturday, have won their first two league fixtures and also defeated Club Brugge 3-1 in a Champions League play-off first leg tie in midweek.

“You have to wait to see. It’s not any pressure for me. We have 28 players. We did it last season without Pedro,” van Gaal said when asked if he would keep looking for new signings.

Liverpool midfielder James Milner claims Monday’s clash with Arsenal is the perfect opportunity to test his side’s improvement since last season.

Brendan Rodgers’ team have been widely written off as also-rans in this season’s title race after limping to a sixth place finish that saw the Reds trail in 25 points behind champions Chelsea last term.

But they have made a quietly encouraging start and head to the Emirates stadium in third place after grinding out 1-0 wins over Stoke and Bournemouth.

Arsenal slumped to a 2-0 home defeat against West Ham before getting back on track with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

And Milner, a close-season signing from Manchester City, believes Liverpool will get the kind of stern examination in north London that should indicate how much they need to improve to challenge for the title.

“They look sharp,” Milner said.

“They had a disappointing result in their first game against West Ham but they are a quality team and will want to bounce back from that and try to get their run going.”

Rocked by their surprise loss to West Ham, Arsenal looked more composed and clinical against Palace and German defender Per Mertesacker has revealed how clear-the-air talks helped them kick-start their campaign.

“Obviously when everything goes very smooth in pre-season, you avoid those talks. But there was a need for it when we came out of the (West Ham) match,” he said.

“You could already feel something when you are in the relegation zone, and not having produced what everyone expected from you, so it was important to bounce back.”

Arsenal’s early inconsistency is nothing in comparison to the dismal start made by Chelsea, who have endured their worst opening for 17 years after a 2-2 draw against Swansea and then a 3-0 thrashing at Manchester City.

Blues boss Jose Mourinho has acted swiftly by signing Pedro and Ghana left-back Baba Rahman from Augsburg.

With Pedro and Rahman potentially in line for debuts at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic has no doubts his team will soon bounce back from lacklustre opening he blames on the earlier than usual start to the season.

The kick off was moved to August 8 to give England manager Roy Hodgson extra time to prepare his side for Euro 2016.

“Those 10 days in terms of preparation between what we did last year and this year make a difference and is maybe a problem,” Matic said.

Early pace setters Manchester City will look to maintain their 100 percent record when the leaders travel to Everton on Sunday.

City will be without Argentina right-back Pablo Zabaleta, who has been ruled out for a month with a knee injury, but his compatriot Nicolas Otamendi, signed from Valencia this week, could be included in Manuel Pellegrini’s squad.

Martino: I regret saying Messi should quit Argentina

Argentina head coach Gerardo Martino has admitted he regrets saying he would understand if Lionel Messi quit the national team, and is now hoping the Barcelona attacker will turn up for the country's next two friendlies. Messi has led the Albiceleste to the final of their last two major tournaments – but they were beaten on both occasions, losing 1-0 to Germany at World Cup 2014 before being defeated by Chile on penalties at this year's Copa America. The four-time Ballon d'Or winner's value to the national team was called into question after the heartbreaking final defeat to Chile and it was reported that the upset 28-year-old was considering turning his back on his country. Martino commented at the time: "Talk of him considering retiring from the national team is frustrating but understandable. If I were Messi, I would have stopped playing for Argentina a long time ago." However, the former Barca boss included Messi in his squad for next month's friendlies against Bolivia and Mexico and is now desperately hoping his skipper answers the call. "I should not have said that Messi should quit the national team," Martino told TyC Sports. "I did not speak with Messi before this call-up. I hope he comes." Argentina takes on Bolivia on Sept. 4 before meeting Mexico four days later.