The Spanish La Liga is set to return for the commencement of the 2021/22 season days after suffering the most significant loss of any major league in world football resulting from the exit of FC Barcelona legend and face of the league Lionel Messi on a free transfer to French giants Paris Saint Germain.
The league body is currently embroiled in a legal tussle over the legality of the sale of the league’s rights to a private investment company, CVC Capital Partners.
Last season, Atletico Madrid claimed a first league title since 2014 after both Real Madrid and Barcelona faltered badly in the season.
The El Clasico rivals have gone on to lose both their captains on free transfers to Paris Saint Germain, making the league much more open than it has ever been.
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Atletico Madrid are firm favourites to defend the title they won last season due to the fact that their rivals have been weakened. In contrast, they have added a quality player to their ranks in Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul. Atletico manager Diego Simeone signed a contract extension with the club over the summer, indicating the club’s trust in him to continue winning.
FC Barcelona remain favourites to win the title despite only just losing their talismanic captain and all-time record goalscorer Lionel Messi. The club, however, needs to free up players on its wage bill, with the club presently unable to register any new players due to the club exceeding the La Liga salary cap.
The trio of Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia, and Sergio Aguero are yet to be registered for the new season. Of the club’s signings, only Emerson Royal has been registered for the season due to his returning from a loan spell which technically exempts him from the new player registration embargo. This might put them in a tricky spot at the beginning of the season compared to their rivals.
Real Madrid are the other team that would always come up in the La Liga title discussion. Coming into the new season under veteran Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti, Los Blancos have lost their experienced central defence pair of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane. They have only brought in former Bayern Munich defender David Alaba. The club would rely heavily on the experience and quality of captain Karim Benzema to drive their title charge, with the returning Gareth Bale possibly to play an important role as well. If fit, Eden Hazard is another player Ancelotti can count on to deliver the goods for him.
RELEGATION BATTLE
Elche narrowly escaped relegation to the Segunda division last season by two points despite losing their last three matches of the season. They may not be so lucky this season, and are tipped to drop to the second division at the end of this season.
Mallorca gained promotion from the Segunda division after just one season to return to the top flight. Their last stint in the top flight was in the 2019/20 season, and they stayed up for just one season before returning to the second division. This season is expected to be more of the same for the side.
Rayo Vallecano was another side that gained promotion from the Segunda Division via the playoffs. They are expected to return to La Liga 2 at the end of the season due to their lack of quality players to prosecute the season.
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FC Barcelona are in a good position to win the league, especially with the shrewd business they carried out over the summer, bringing in free agents Depay, Aguero and Garcia from top sides. Despite losing Messi, the Catalan giants have a good chance of winning the league ahead of their rivals.
PUNTER’S MATCHDAY ONE TIPS
Our in-house experts have looked at this week’s fixtures and decided on the best games to look out for.
- Valencia vs Getafe: The opening match of the season sees two sides that underperformed last season take on each other. Both sides ended up in the lower half of the table, only separated by five points. Valencia has been given 2.55 odds of winning the match, with their opponents getting 2.90 odds. A draw has been pegged at 3.00 odds, showing that any of the two sides can emerge victorious from the match.
- Alaves vs Real Madrid: Real Madrid will take on Alaves in their own season opener. Los Blancos will be looking to make a strong statement of intent in the match after failing to impress in preseason. A Real Madrid win is very likely and has been given 1.43 odds. Alaves are underdogs in the match and have been given 7.00 odds, and a draw has been pegged at 4.50 odds.
- Mallorca vs Real Betis: Betis finished in sixth place last season to qualify for this season’s Europa League. They will face newcomers Mallorca in their opening fixture away from home. Betis are favourites to emerge as winners and have been given 2.20 odds. Mallorca has been given 3.30 odds of winning the match, and a draw has been pegged at 3.20 odds.
- Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid: Atletico Madrid will commence their title defence against Celta Vigo on the opening day of the season. Celta Vigo are underdogs and have been given 4.05 odds of winning, with favourites Atletico getting 2.00 odds. A draw has been pegged at 3.05 odds.
- Barcelona vs Real Sociedad: Barcelona begin the post-Messi era with a stern test against Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou. The Blaugrana are favourites to pick up all three points and have been given 1.74 odds of winning, with Real Sociedad getting 4.30 odds, and a draw is pegged at 3.90 odds.
