It’s likely to be the usual suspects battling it out for the title, with Barcelona looking to win La Liga for the first time in four years, Real Madrid aiming to retain it for the first time since 2008, and Atletico Madrid hoping to be a thorn in the Big Two’s side once again.
Winner
Real Madrid eased to a 13-point victory last season, as they took advantage of upheaval at Barcelona, who recovered under Xavi Hernandez to finish second, while Atletico and Sevilla finished within 3 points of the Blaugrana.
However, this season almost certainly won’t be as easy for Los Blancos, as Barca have spent big in the transfer window, bringing in Raphinha, Jules Kounde and Robert Lewandowski alongside free transfers in Andreas Christiansen and Franck Kessie, with potentially more signings to come.
Real themselves have not exactly been quiet, bringing in Aurelian Tchouameni from Monaco for £80 million and Antonio Rudiger on a free. The over-reliance on the old guard of Kroos, Modric and Benzema is a concern for Carlo Ancelotti and this may be the season we start to see chinks in the armour of those stars, especially with a World Cup on top of the regular season.
Of the rest, only Atletico Madrid and Sevilla can potentially hold a candle to the favourites, but consistency is likely to be their downfall, especially against lesser sides in the division.
Overall, the signing of Robert Lewandowski cannot be overstated for Barcelona, with the Pole scoring an incredible 238 goals in 252 league games for Bayern alone. If he is even half as lethal as he has been in the Bundesliga, he can tip the scale in favour of his Camp Nou home and lead the Blaugrana to the title.
Top 4 Finish
Behind the main two, the fight for the Champions League spots looks an interesting one, with Atletico Madrid arguably the leading candidate for a Top 4 place. However, behind them, Sevilla, Villarreal, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao all have genuine chances of securing a place in next years competition.
Sevilla finished a couple of points behind Atletico in fourth last season, but with Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde, replacing that centre-back pairing is a concern.
Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao have so far failed to really improve their squads in this transfer window, while Real Betis have so far brought in William Jose from Real Sociedad and Luiz Henrique from Fluminense to boost their squad, as they look to go one better from the fifth last season.
However, the interesting side and one that is tipped here for Top four success, is Real Sociedad, who finished eight points adrift of a Champions League spot and have been quite the active side so far, signing Mohamed Ali-Cho, Takefusa Kubo and Brais Mendez for a combined total of £33 million, which is no mean amount for the Basque side to spend.
Julen Lopategui is a top manager and if these three bed in quickly, they can be the side to secure the final top four spot.
Relegation
There are arguably around seven or eight sides that have genuine relegation concerns, with newly promotes sides Almeria, Rayo Vallecano and Girona all facing tough seasons.
Of those three, Almeria arguably looked best equipped, having been able to spend some money on players, including Brazilian talent Kaiky from Santos and a combined £10 million on three further players to improve the side, including Marko Milovanovic from Partizan Belgrade.
Cadiz, Mallorca and Getafe all survived with a point to spare, with Getafe expected to hugely improve and keep themselves away from trouble, while Mallorca have brought in Vedat Muriqi and Pablo Maffeo to bolster their ranks.
Cadiz look destined for major struggles, though, as do Real Valladolid, who have spent mainly on one signing in Gonzalo Plata from Sporting CP in Portugal. They finished 12th in 21/22 but ended the season in poor form and it’s difficult to see how that can be halted, with a decent early run helping them stay clear last year.
Top Scorer
The battle for the Pichichi looks set to be a straight fight between last year’s winner, Karim Benzema of Real Madrid and Barcelona’s new signing, Robert Lewandowski.
Real Madrid and France star Benzema had his best ever season in-front of goal last time out, winning the League and Champions League once again, scoring 27 league goals and a total of 44 goals in 46 total appearances.
However, his new nemesis is very much expected to be Lewandowski, who has scored at least 40 total goals per season in the last five years, including 35 goals in 34 league appearances last year, with a grand total of 50 in 46 matches.
It’s going to be a fascinating race for the Pichichi this year and I fancy the Polish legend to once again top the charts. If he does that, he will likely push Barca close to the title too.
