A cloud of expectancy shrouds the La Liga Santander, Spain’s top division, which is all set to kick off on Friday, the 16th of August with the defending champions FC Barcelona visiting the San Mames to take on Athletic Bilbao in what is expected to be a cakewalk for the team from Catalunya despite the injury-enforced absence of talisman and captain Lionel Messi.
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With the influx of talent from various parts of the globe, the 89th edition of the tournament promises to be a tantalising affair for all parties involved, including the fans. Let us try and rank the favorites for the title.
1. FC Barcelona
The defending champions of the Spanish top division title are the clear favorites yet again, having captured eight of the last 11 in what can be heralded as an era of domestic domination by the Catalans.
Significant reinforcements in the form of Antoine Griezmann, Junior Firpo, and Frenkie de Jong have been brought in by the club’s hierarchy who seek to eliminate any possible weaknesses in their quest for yet another treble.
Despite all this, Barcelona suffer from a case of "Messidependencia," and it almost seems inevitable that their captain Lionel Messi will be the go-to man for them this season.
2. Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid have always been the face of the idiom "So close yet so far" following a couple of second-place finishes in La Liga (not to mention their Champions League travails).
The summer of 2019 has borne fruit to a squad overhaul at the Wanda Metropolitano with multiple big-names including Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin and Juanfran departing the club.
Los Rojiblancos brought in Portuguese wonderkid Joao Felix along with Marcos Llorente, Felipe, Kieran Trippier, and many others in order to piece together a squad that is capable of challenging on all fronts.
With Joao Felix seeming to be the real deal with his performances in pre-season advocating for the same, Atletico seem to have a good shot of bringing home La Liga for the first time since 2013-14.
3. Real Madrid
An extremely disappointing campaign last time around saw Real Madrid record 12 defeats and finish a massive 19 points behind eventual leaders Barcelona. A turbulent campaign for Los Blancos saw them fire two coaches and turn to club legend Zinedine Zidane yet again, with mixed results.
The Madrid based side thus have run amok in the transfer market having splashed the cash in, bringing in five new players spending in excess of €300 million. Eden Hazard is the marquee name amongst the bunch and is expected to fire Real to trophies on all fronts.
Despite a poor pre-season, Zidane is expected the get the squad fit and firing else he risks facing the sack.
4. Valencia
Despite spending a majority of last season outside the top 4, Valencia, under the guidance of coach Marcelino peaked just at the right time thereby clinching a Champions League berth. If "Los Che" plays its cards right, they could find themselves on top come May next year.
Valencia have signed goalkeeper Jasper Cilessen from Barcelona with Norberto Neto going the other way.
The most significant of all their transfers might just turn out to be Maxi Gomez’s arrival from Celta Vigo. The 23-year-old Uruguayan notched up 13 goals and five assists at Balaidos, and can only be expected to improve under Marcelino’s guidance.
5. Sevilla
Finishes of seventh and sixth over the past two seasons have led to a complete makeover with the Seville based side witnessing 11 new arrivals to the club, all of whose moves were sealed by the returning Monchi, who has taken charge as the sporting director of Sevilla following a two-year spell away at AS Roma.
Rony Lopes, Fernando Reges, and Lucas Ocampos are some of the names that have been brought in. However, "Los Hispalenses" have also lost two key players in the form of Wissam Ben Yedder and Pablo Sarabia to AS Monaco and PSG respectively.
Julen Lopetegui has taken over at the club and it is not known how he will fare, following a disastrous spell at Real Madrid.
All in all, it is quite difficult to judge the final standings although Sevilla can be expected to be fighting for the title, or the Champions League spots as a bare minimum.
