The European Champions. The Olympic gold medalists. The hotbed of the cutting edge football. The home to majority of best footballers in the world.Yes, we’re talking about Spain, and Thursday night is the moment that the new season of the Spanish top division finally starts.The upcoming edition of La Liga promises nothing but fireworks, with at least four teams expected to be involved in the title race. And so many out-of-this-world stars across those sides, with Real Madrid being a top contender for the second silverware in a row.The Champions League winners and La Liga holders have already won the first trophy of the season – UEFA Super Cup, after routinely beating Atalanta 2-0 in Warsaw on Wednesday night.UEFA Super Cup: Mbappe bags his first Real Madrid goal in a routine sweep of AtalantaIt’s August and Barca still didn’t sell RoqueIt’s official: Alvarez joins the Argentine colony in MadridCarlo Ancelotti’s superb team – led by impeccable Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr – is even stronger than before following Kylian Mbappe’s arrival.Bellingham took Spain by storm in his first year at Santiago Bernabeu, but with Mbappe in the attack alongside Vinicius, the Englishman will be tasked with more defensive duties, similar to how he played while at Borussia Dortmund.Still, don’t let those names fool you – Los Blancos have much more than just three sensational forwards. Rodrygo, Camavinga, Tchouameni, Modric (benched and slowly approaching the club’s exit doors), Arda Guler, Rudiger… The only missing names from last season are Nacho and Joselu, who left the club, but their absence won’t hurt the Spanish giants, for sure. This squad is packed with extraordinary players, and anything less than La Liga title would be considered as a flop for Florentino Perez’s Galacticos 2.0 version.———————————————–TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE LA LIGA PLAYERS1. Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) – €180,000,0002. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid) – €180,000,0003. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) – €180,000,0004. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) – €120,000,0005. Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) – €120,000,0006. Rodrygo (Real Madrid) – €110,000,0007. Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid) – €100,000,0008. Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid) – €100,000,0009. Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid) – €90,000,00010. Gavi (Barcelona) – €90,000,000—————————————————On the other hand, Barcelona have got a new coach – Hansi Flick. And their president, Joan Laporta, hopes that the German tactician will be able to prevent another disappointing, trophyless season.Therefore, they brought back their long-lost son, Dani Olmo, from RB Leipzig. Along with his Spain teammate Lamine Yamal, Olmo should be the key operator of the new Barca, which will return to their iconic and renovated Camp Nou stadium.What worries the Blaugrana is Robert Lewandowski’s form. The veteran striker’s performance level was significantly diminished for much of the last season. “Only” 26 goals, compared to 33 in the season before that, paved the way for Barca’s La Liga title in the 2022-23 season.Along with Olmo, they did their best to sign Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao, but as things stand, the 21-year-old winger wil stay put. Despite showing interest in joining Olmo and Yamal, Williams Jr seems happy that his transfer saga unfolded the way we won’t see him at Camp Nou after all.Msimu wa 2024/2025 wa La Liga unaanza rasmi leo 🔥. Real Madrid watatetea ubingwa wao, kuna timu zimepandishwa ngazi na wote wanataka kupambana kusalia kwenye ligi msimu ujao. Nani atatwaa ubingwa msimu huu?Kuwa Mshindi!#LaLiga pic.twitter.com/tHYgmxkAUQ— Mozzart Bet Kenya (@mozzartbetkenya) August 15, 2024 Unlike those three mentioned teams – Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao – Atletico Madrid went into a serious rebuild. After finishing fourth in a poor season last year, Diego Cholo Simeone and his club have splashed the cash on several expensive reinforcements.Cholo’s compatriot Julian Alvarez arrived from Manchester City for a fee of around €85 million euros, who’ll be joined in the attack by former Villarreal striker Alexander Sorloth. Moreover, they brought in another EURO 2024 winner, Robin Le Normand, from Real Sociedad, to strengthen the back line.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Alvaro Morata, Saul Niguez, Memphis Depay and Stefan Savic left the club, and this new Atleti should look quite differently than it was the case in the previous campaign.Joao Felix’s status is still unsolved. Barcelona decided not to opt for a buyout clause after a one-year loan, and Simeone doesn’t want him in the team, so the fate of the expensively paid Portuguese, whose career is in decline, is still uncertain.————————————————–LA LIGA TITLESReal Madrid 36Barcelona 27Atletico Madrid 11Athletic Bilbao 8Valencia 6Real Sociedad 2Deportivo La Coruna, Sevilla and Betis 1————————————————-Talking about possible dark horses seems useless with such star-studded Real Madrid and Barcelona, but Girona will probably look for another season to remember after that third-place finish.Michel’s team have lost winger Savinho and key striker Artem Dovbyk, but will be hopeful of continuing to build on their remarkable achievements in their fifth La Liga season ever.Bryan Gil arrived from Tottenham on loan, Oriol Romeu is back after an ill-fated spell at Barcelona, and Donny van de Beek joined them from Manchester United.Kenyan international Athuman set for return to Spanish club Real MurciaMaurizio Pellegrini will lead Betis for the fifth season in a row. About €10,000,000 were invested in reinforcements, while their city rival, Sevilla, made a massive sale of Moroccan Youssef En Nesyri to Fenerbahce for a Turkish record of €19,500,000. Saul Niguez from Atletico and Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho from Leicester arrived as free agents, while Albert Sambi Lokonga is on loan from Arsenal.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 1Thursday 20.00: (1.50) Ath.Bilbao (4.10) Getafe (8.50)22.30: (2.40) Betis (3.45) Girona (3.15)Friday 20.00: (2.10) Celta (3.45) Alaves (3.90)22.30: (2.95) Las Palmas (3.15) Sevilla (2.55)Saturday 20.00: (1.85) Osasuna (3.45) Leganes (4.50)22.30: (4.90) Valencia (3.60) Barcelona (1.75)Sunday 20.00: (1.62) Sociedad (3.50) Rayo Vallecano (6.50)22.30: (6.75) Mallorca (4.00) Real Madrid (1.53)Monday 20.00: (2.40) Valladolid (3.25) Espanyol (3.30)22.30: (3.25) Villareal (3.45) Atl.Madrid (2.20)***odds are subject to change***
