Read our preview of the new LaLiga season as Spanish football returns

LaLiga season preview: Barcelona, Real Madrid & Atletico Madrid previews & best summer signings in Spain this summer

By Sporting Life

Football

Fri August 16, 2019 · 5y ago

We look at how Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are shaping up for the new season and hear from Luis Garcia and Gaizka Mendieta.

LaLiga is back with Barcelona chasing a hat-trick of league titles and again looking the ones to beat with both Real Madrid and Atletico having questions to answer for differing reasons after an eventful summer.

The Premier League may still be regarded as the best league in the world, but in Spain this summer there has been some huge transfer activity with three €100m signings being made by the three main challengers for the title.

And the three in question could hold the keys for their respective teams: can Eden Hazard spark a Real Madrid revival? Can Joao Felix justify Atletico Madrid's huge spending spree? Can Antoine Griezmann fit into an already packed Barcelona attack that may yet end up including Neymar?

Barcelona are odds-on favourites to make it a title hat-trick, and after the summer they've had there's no wonder why, but can Real or Atletico Madrid launch a serious title challenge this season?

Barca backed for title hat-trick

Things for Ernesto Valverde and his squad actually fell flat last season after their devastating Champions League exit at Anfield, with Lionel Messi still talking about it in pre-season as a rallying cry for the coming campaign. They'll be going all-out to be kings of Europe again but will they take their eye of the ball domestically?

They certainly have the players to compete in both, after dominating last season they've only gone and added Antoine Griezmann to the list of mega-money forwards, joining Messi, Suarez, Coutinho (for now) and Dembele (also for now) in the most star-studded attack on the planet.

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They've even solidified their midfield with Ajax's Frenkie De Jong, which could be the best move of them all when it comes to avoiding another European collapse this season. Barca have won eight of the last 11 Spanish league titles but progressed beyond the Champions League quarter-finals once in four years - that's just not good enough for this side.

Fitting all these players into a functioning side will be Valverde's biggest problem, but if Coutinho and/or Dembele depart in the remainder of the transfer window then that may help - while Messi missing the start of the season through injury is a bit of a worry.

Winning the league simply isn't enough for Barca this year - that will very much be the minimum requirement but with so much talent on show it's hard to see them finishing anywhere other than back on top.

All change at Atletico Madrid

This is a new Atletico as Diego Simeone has seen wholesale changes this summer, with stalwarts Antoine Griezmann, Lucas Hernandez, Filipe Luis, Juanfran and Diego Godin all leaving while Portuguese teenager Joao Felix has arrived under a fanfare - and a hefty price tag.

Kieran Trippier has arrived along with highly-regarded centre half Mario Hermoso, while Hector Herrera and Marcos Llorente bolster the midfield and they will still be hopeful of adding Valencia striker Rodrigo before the window closes. Alavaro Morata is there and as we know anything can happen when Diego Costa is around.

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Felix has been excellent in pre-season and hopes are high of them at least being Barca's nearest challengers for a third straight season - as they've been transformed into a big-spending powerhouse after moving into their new stadium.

Getting these players to gel as a team will be Simeone's biggest task this season, that's why he's the best-paid manager in the league, and he'll have to get them moving quickly to try and catch Barca - but they at least look a lot more together than Madrid rivals Real after their strange summer of unrest.

Zidane under pressure at Real

The Spanish press have already been piling the pressure on Zinedine Zidane before a ball's even been kicked, and it's strange not to see more optimism surrounding a team that's splashed out over £200m this summer and brought in one of the best players in the world in Eden Hazard.

Luka Jovic, Rodrygo, Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy have all arrived, but it is lack of movement in two specific areas that has some fans concerned, notably the failure to complete Gareth Bale's departure and to bring in Paul Pogba. Pogba was said to be Zidane's top summer target and the fact they've been unable or unwilling to bring to the club is cause for concern in some quarters, with Bale's situation unsettling too.

Zinedine Zidane and Gareth Bale have a poor relationship at Real

Having Bale, and James Rodriguez for that matter, still around when Zidane has made it known he doesn't fancy them is not the best for team atmosphere, and when you throw in a serious injury to Marco Asensio and some poor pre-season results then there's no wonder there are clouds darkening above the Bernabeu.

There is debate over whether Thibault Courtois or Keylor Navas should be the number one keeper, while striker Jovic has been linked with a loan move away after failing to impress Zidane - these are not issues you need when setting out to overhaul a 19-point deficit to Barca from last season.

Turning their backs on Christian Eriksen looks like a mistake, and what they can do with Bale and Rodriguez could be pivotal to their chances this season. We must remember this is Real Madrid so they have to be respected - but this season is already shaping up to be another soap opera at Santiago Bernabeu.

Who are the best of the rest?

It has been a busy summer up and down LaLiga as all 20 clubs know that standing still means falling behind. Valencia have kept their core of last year’s Copa del Rey-winning squad, while also adding bullish centre-forward Maxi Gomez from RC Celta.

Getafe narrowly missed out on a huge upset when missing out on fourth place to Valencia on the final day last season, but they'll be hard-pushed to replicate that effort when faced with Europa League football this season - you could say the same for Espanyol who also punched above their weight last season.

Sevilla finished seventh and sixth in the last two years and now have former Spain national coach Julen Lopetegui settling in as their new coach. They're building a new-look team from 12 summer signings having sold Wissam Ben Yedder to Monaco.

The opening weekend of fixtures in Spain (Pic courtesy of LaLiga)

Although only four LaLiga clubs have new managers in charge for the new season, change has been happening up and down the division. Real Betis signing France’s 2016 World Cup winner Nabil Fekir looks a real coup, as does Leganes bringing back Denmark international forward Martin Braithwaite.

Fekir will have a lot of eyes on him after his on-off future being linked with the Premier League, Liverpool in particular, and the price he eventually went for could prove to be one of the best signings in Europe this summer.

Expectations are high at Real Sociedad for their two new Scandinavian starlets Martin Odegaard and Alexander Isak while, elsewhere in the Basque Country, there is real buzz around Athletic Club’s homegrown winger Gaizka Larrazabal and Iñaki Williams, who has just committed his long-term future to the club after signing a nine-year deal to stay at San Mames until 2028.

What about the battle at the bottom?

New boys Osasuna and Granada have brought in experience in 2013/14 LaLiga winner Adrian Lopez and former Valencia striker Roberto Soldado respectively, while Mallorca’s veteran midfielder Salva Sevilla deserves another shot at the top level after masterminding back to back promotions.

A theme of the summer has been players returning to LaLiga after time away. Former RC Deportivo forward Lucas Perez has joined Alaves, ex-Real Madrid and Valencia defender Raul Albiol has signed for Villarreal, and one-time Barça and Malaga forward Sandro Ramirez will play on loan at R. Valladolid.

Others coming ‘home’ are Japan international Takashi Inui, back at Eibar following spells at Real Betis and D. Alaves, and Galician Denis Suarez who has rejoined his hometown side RC Celta from Barça.

The reunions continue during Matchday One, when Barça coach Ernesto Valverde goes back to his old club Athletic Club in Bilbao, Atletico de Madrid face neighbours Getafe in the first Spanish capital derby of the season, and RC Celta welcome Real Madrid to Balaidos with both teams looking for better fortunes this season.

(courtesy of LaLiga)

Ones to watch

Eden Hazard signs for Real Madrid from Chelsea

Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)

After a long courtship, Real finally extracted playmaker Hazard from Chelsea in an £88.5million deal over the summer. The high-profile move was a fallback to the galactico recruitment policy of the past, a clear attempt to jolt the side after a frustrating 2018-19 campaign. Hazard was the standout performer at Stamford Bridge for years, helping deliver plenty of success, and there will be plenty of pressure on him to hit the ground the running.

Frenkie De Jong (Barcelona)

Barca are not resting on their laurels after claiming an eighth LaLiga crown in 11 years and have had a busy summer in the transfer market, bringing in De Jong, Antoine Griezmann and Junior Firpo. They also continue to be linked with Neymar. Holland midfielder De Jong, 22, shone in the Ajax side that reached last year's Champions League semi-finals and there are high hopes for him at the Nou Camp.

Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid)

It has been a summer of change for Diego Simeone's Atletico with a number of comings and goings. The signing of Felix from Benfica for £113million to replace Griezmann has gained the most attention. The 19-year-old Portugal international, who scored 18 goals in 34 appearances for Benfica last season, comes highly rated and was linked with Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool before his move to the Wanda Metropolitano.

Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)

Plenty of people in England - not least Gareth Southgate - will be keen to see how right-back Trippier gets on in LaLiga following his £21.7million move from Tottenham. The 28-year-old former Burnley player has slipped down the England pecking order since the 2018 World Cup and the move offers a fresh chance to make an impression on a new stage.

Nabil Fekir (Real Betis)

Betis have bolstered their squad after last season's mid-table finish with a couple of eye-catching attacking signings in Borja Iglesias and Fekir. France international Fekir, 26, arrived from Lyon for £17.7million having long been linked with a move to one of Europe's top leagues. Liverpool, in particular, were long reported to be a potential suitor. The deal could prove a coup for the Andalusian club.