Why You Can Trust CNET
Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement
Former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick takes charge of his first competitive game for Barcelona on Saturday as the Blaugrana travel to Valencia in this opening weekend match of the new La Liga season.
Barca finished second last term, 10 points behind rivals Real Madrid, with Flick coming into the job under less than ideal circumstances. The Catalan giants are already in the midst of a major injury crisis that includes vice-captain Ronald Araujo, key midfielder Pedri and Dutch star Frenkie de Jong, while big summer signing Dani Olmo also looks unlikely to be available for today's game.
They come up against a Valencia side that finished in midtable under manager Ruben Baraja season, a big improvement over the disastrous previous campaign, which saw them flirt dangerously with relegation. That in turn has raised expectations of a higher finish this term for a club that's accustomed to regular European qualification.
Valencia host Barcelona at Mestalla Stadium on Saturday, Aug 17. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m CEST local time, making it a 3 p.m. ET, 12 p.m PT start in the US, an 8 p.m. start in the UK and a 5 a.m. AEST kickoff in Australia on Sunday.
Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game as it happens, wherever you are in the world.
Back in May, Hansi Flick signed a two-year deal to replace Xavi as Barcelona manager.
Eric Alonso/Getty ImagesHow to watch Valencia vs. Barcelona in the US without cable
All Spanish topflight games are once again available to stream in the US via ESPN Plus, which has live English- and Spanish-language broadcast rights for La Liga in the states. Select games will also be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, with this match set to be shown live on ABC.
If you find yourself unable to view La Liga matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 25% speed loss in 2024 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month with code SPECIALDEAL, which should be automatically applied.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Livestream Valencia vs. Barcelona in the UK
La Liga broadcast rights in the UK are once again with Premier Sports, which will be showing a minimum of five live matches per week from Spain's top league on its dedicated La Liga channel.
A subscription to just Premier Sports' dedicated La Liga channel costs £8 a month.
You can also get the channel via a full subscription to Premier Sports, giving you access to all of the networks' channels, which have the UK broadcast rights to Scottish Premiership matches, BKT United Rugby Championship and Investec Champions Cup rugby, plus NHL and NASCAR.
A full Premier Sports subscription costs £10 per month for Sky and Virgin TV customers. You can also get Premier Sports through Amazon Prime Video as an add-on for £15 a month.
Livestream Valencia vs. Barcelona in Canada
TSN is the rights holder for live coverage of La Liga matches in the region, with select fixtures being shown on its linear channels, and a wider selection of games being shown on its TSN Plus streaming platform.
TSN Plus is a direct-streaming service that costs CA$8 a month and also offers coverage of PGA Tour Live golf, NFL games, F1, NASCAR and the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
Livestream Valencia vs. Barcelona in Australia
Footy fans Down Under can once again watch La Liga fixtures live on BeIn Sports, which holds the live broadcast rights in Australia for Spanish topflight matches.
BeIn Sports is available in Australia for AU$15 a month or a yearly commitment of AU$130.
Quick tips for streaming La Liga using a VPN
- With four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- your experience and success when streaming La Liga matches may vary.
- If you don't see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the "search for city or country" option.
- If you're having trouble getting the game after you've turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs -- like Roku -- don't have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you'll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network's sports app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you're using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.