Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr! How do you stop that forward line? That is the question that 19 La Liga teams will need to answer if they are to claim the Spanish League title for their own.
Real Madrid still hold the record amount of La Liga titles with 32, but Barcelona will once more be looking to close the gap and aim for a 25th League title.
As expected the ‘Blaugrana’ are favorites to retain the trophy and despite Atletico’s recent gate crashing of the monopoly of the top two it is Real Madrid who are viewed as second favourites to win the Primera division according to the online sportsbook soccer odds.
Real Madrid head Coach Zinedine Zidane will be desperate for a domestic title (a first since 2012) after guiding the ‘Blancos’ to the Champions League crown last year defeating their local rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties 5-3 in the final.
However, with no notable signings in the transfer market as of yet and Cristiano Ronaldo suffering an all too documented knee injury in the summer at the European Championships, Zidane either has complete trust in his current squad or is carefully biding his time before making his move.
In the 2013/14 season Atletico head coach Diego Simeone pulled of a masterstroke as he guided ‘Los Rojiblancos’ to a first league title since 1996. Having upset the odds, Simeone has maintained Atletico’s position as regular European and La Liga contenders and will no doubt be ready to pounce on any mistakes Barce or Real make.
According to the history books Athletic Bilbao are the third most successful team in Spanish Football history. So what of their chances to break the mould and do a ‘Leicester’?
The Basque club are without a title since the 1983/84 season and after finishing 29 points behind Barce last season, it looks likely the wait will go on.
With Valencia and Sevilla equally going through testing times at the moment the omens for a major upset like the one seen in the Premier League last season are not good.
The title will be contested between Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico, A stunning front three for Barcelona, an awesome forward line from Real in Ronaldo and Bale and Diego Simeone’s pure strength of character means you can’t rule any of these three powerhouses out.
Can FC Barcelona be stopped? Yes. Will they? I will tell you in May.
Until then…
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andym
Founder and chief editor of La Liga Blog, Andy fell in love with Spanish football after a university placement year in the Costa Del Sol. His favourite Tapas is Albondigas and on Saturday afternoons, Andy can regularly be found trying to emulate his hero Carles Puyol for his amateur football team.