Lionel Messi will not be risked for Barcelona’s opening La Liga game against Athletic Bilbao today, according to his coach Ernesto Valverde. Messi sustained a calf injury in training last week and missed Barca’s last two pre-season friendlies against Napoli.
They begin their title defence at San Mames this weekend and Valverde has said Messi is yet to train ahead of the match. “We are not going to take risks with any player, even less with Leo,” Valverde said in a press conference. “He hasn’t trained or played with the team. We will wait a while but his recovery process is going well.” 
Valverde was also asked about a potential move for Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar as Barcelona and Real Madrid scrap to sign the Brazilian before the transfer window closes on September 2. “I am not in the middle of these issues,” Valverde said. “I focus on the team and players I have, I can’t think about players in other teams. I have always kept a line of respect in that way because Neymar belongs to PSG. We will see what happens but I can’t tell you anything about it.” 
Barcelona have already spent around 250mn euros this summer and it is believed any bid for Neymar would include players in the deal. Nelson Semedo has been among those mentioned as possible makeweights, along with Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic. 
“It all depends on performance,” Valverde said, when asked about Semedo’s future. “Until August 31 everything is open but we think and I hope that Nelson stays with us.” 
Barcelona are attempting to win La Liga for the third time in a row after finishing 11 points clear of Atletico Madrid last season. Even before the possible arrival of Neymar, they have been boosted by the signings of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico and Frenkie de Jong from Ajax. “Tomorrow we start the league and our goal is to repeat our success,” Valverde said. “The most difficult thing is to keep winning.”

new-look Atletico dreaming of La Liga glory again
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid began the summer by losing six of their best players but are ending it with greater belief than ever they can beat Real Madrid and Barcelona to the La Liga title, thanks in part to the exhilarating form of new striker Joao Felix. Diego Simeone was tasked with his biggest rebuild since taking charge in 2011 after an exodus that not only drained his team of talent, including star man Antoine Griezmann, but caused many to wonder if the team could ever be the same again.
They lost four defenders, with full-backs Filipe Luis and Juanfran going to Brazil with Flamengo and Sao Paulo, captain Diego Godin moving to Inter Milan, and young gem Lucas Hernandez snapped up by Bayern Munich.
They also lost their defensive midfielder Rodri to Manchester City after just a year at the club, while the spat between Atleti and Barca over Griezmann’s messy departure left a bad taste in the mouth. Few would expect Griezmann and the 75mn euro ($84mn) Frenkie de Jong not to make Barca even stronger, an ominous prospect given they won La Liga by 11 points only three months ago, but Atletico look best-placed to capitalise should they falter.
Forward Felix is at the heart of the optimism following his arrival for 120 mn euros, erasing the pain of the Frenchman’s exit even before a competitive ball has been kicked. The 19-year-old has dazzled during pre-season, his most impressive outing coming against Juventus and his fellow Portugese Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday, when he scored one and set up the other in a 2-1 win in Stockholm.
“Wherever you put him, he reads the game really well,” said Simeone. “The best thing about him though is that he wants to learn. When this is the case, adaptation is always quicker.”
Mario Hermoso, Kieran Trippier and Renan Lodi all appear excellent defensive additions while Marcos Llorente from Real Madrid should prove a shrewd replacement for silky Rodri. Atletico finished 12 points ahead of Real last season and a series of bad summer displays from Zinedine Zidane’s side — including a 7-3 defeat to their Madrid rivals — inspire little confidence despite the arrival of Eden Hazard.
Zidane was frustrated in his bid to bring in Paul Pogba, while sidelined players Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez remain in the squad. Real reject Julen Lopetegui will be hoping for more patience at Sevilla, where a frantic transfer window has seen 12 players arrive, including Dutch international striker Luuk de Jong, and 11 depart.
De Jong will be tasked with filling the void left by Pablo Sarabia, who left for Paris Saint-Germain, and Wissam Ben Yedder, who has joined Monaco.
Challenging Sevilla for the top four will be Valencia, who have endured a similarly chaotic summer amid tensions between Singaporean owner Peter Lim and the general manager Mateu Alemany, who is backed by coach Marcelino, over transfer strategy.

Fixtures (all times GMT)
Today: Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona (1900)
Tomorrow: Celta Vigo v Real Madrid (1500), Valencia v Real Sociedad (1700), Mallorca v Eibar (1800), Leganes v Osasuna (1900), Villarreal v Granada (1900)
On Sunday: Alaves v Levante (1500), Espanyol v Sevilla (1700), Real Betis v Real Valladolid (1900), Atletico Madrid v Getafe (2000)