La Liga gets underway this weekend, so how are the big Spanish teams shaping up ahead of the new season?
Last season saw a thrilling finale which ran into the final week of the season. Will we see the same again this year?
Atletico Madrid
Major Signings: Nicolás Gaitán (Benfica, £21.25 million), Kevin Gameiro (Sevilla, £27 million), Sime Vrsaljiko (Sassuolo, £13.6 million), Diogo Jota (Pacos Ferreira, £6.1 million), Axel Werner (Rafaela, £680,000), Fernando Torres (AC Milan, Free)
Pre-season form
Played 6, won 4, lost 2 (defeat to Cadiz on penalties), friendly against Galatasaray cancelled.
Key Fixtures
Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid (21st September)
Valencia vs. Atletico Madrid (2nd October)
Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid (23rd October)
Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid (20th November)
Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona (26th February 2017)
Atletico Madrid vs. Valencia (5th March)
Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla (19th March)
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid (9th April)
Team Quality
Diego Simeone masterminded their league victory in 2013/14 and he’s still at the helm for this season. They’ve managed to keep hold of Antoine Griezmann and they’ve added both strength and depth to their squad. The defence was superb for Atletico last season, with just 18 goals conceded in the 38 league games.
Prediction: 2nd
Barcelona
Major Signings: Samuel Umtiti (Lyon, £21.2 million), Lucas Digne (Lyon, £14 million), André Gomes (Valencia, £47.1 million), Denis Suárez (Villarreal, £2.7 million)
Pre-season form
Played 4, won 3, lost 1. Beat Sevilla in Spanish Super Cup 5-0 on aggregate over two legs.
Key Fixtures
Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid (21st September)
Valencia vs. Barcelona (23rd October)
Sevilla vs. Barcelona (6th November)
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (4th December)
Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona (26th February)
Barcelona vs. Valencia (19th March)
Barcelona vs. Sevilla (5th April)
Real Madrid vs. Barcelona (23rd April)
Team Quality
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez scored an incredible 90 goals between them for Barcelona last season, but with the exception of Munir, there’s not much depth to their attacking options. Arda Turan will be hoping to make a bigger impact than he did last season, whilst the arrivals of Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne will strengthen the defence. Dani Alves has departed, but the core of their great sides of recent years remains.
Prediction: 1st
Real Madrid
Major Signings: Álvaro Morata (Juventus, £24 million)
Pre-season form
Played 4, won 3, lost 1. Beat Sevilla in UEFA Super Cup 3-2.
Key Fixtures
Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid (20th November)
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (4th December)
Valencia vs. Real Madrid (18th December)
Sevilla vs. Real Madrid (15th January)
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid (9th April)
Real Madrid vs. Barcelona (23rd April)
Real Madrid vs. Valencia (30th April)
Real Madrid vs. Sevilla (14th May)
Team Quality
They scored 110 goals last season, just two fewer than Barcelona, and a single point was the difference between the two sides by the end of the season. Álvaro Morata has returned from Juventus and will add another attacking option, but there’s been a surprising lack of signings from the Spanish giants. A transfer ban is on the horizon and they could look to add last minute depth to their squad before the window closes. They are European champions however, and are a quality outfit.
Prediction: 3rd
Sevilla
Major Signings: Franco Vázquez (Palermo, £12.72 million), Joaquín Correa (Sampdoria, £11 million), Ganso (Sao Paulo, £8 million), Wissam Ben Yedder (Toulouse, £7.65 million), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Hannover, £5.5 million)
Pre-season form
Played 6, won 6. Beaten by both Real Madrid in UEFA Super Cup and Barcelona in Spanish Super Cup.
Key Fixtures
Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid (23rd October)
Sevilla vs. Barcelona (6th November)
Sevilla vs. Valencia (27th November)
Sevilla vs. Real Madrid (15th January)
Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla (19th March)
Barcelona vs. Sevilla (5th April)
Valencia vs. Sevilla (16th April)
Real Madrid vs. Sevilla (14th May)
Team Quality
A lot has changed over the summer for Sevilla. Manager Unai Emery left for Paris St. Germain and has been replaced by Jorge Sampaoli, whilst Grzegorz Krychowiak, Kevin Gameiro, Ever Banega and Coke have also left. Sampaoli is untested in Europe, but did coach Chile to a Copa America win this summer and has bought in lots of players with attacking mentalities. They were unfortunate in their defeat to Real Madrid, but Sampaoli has bemoaned the lack of time that he’s been able to have on the training ground.
Prediction: 4th
Valencia
Major Signings: Nani (Fenerbahce, £7 million), Álvaro Medrán (Real Madrid, £1.2 million), Martin Montoya (Barcelona, Free)
Pre-season form
Played 7, won 4, drawn 1, lost 2.
Key Fixtures
Valencia vs. Atletico Madrid (2nd October)
Valencia vs. Barcelona (23rd October)
Sevilla vs. Valencia (27th November)
Valencia vs. Real Madrid (18th December)
Atletico Madrid vs. Valencia (5th March)
Barcelona vs. Valencia (19th March)
Valencia vs. Sevilla (16th April)
Real Madrid vs. Valencia (30th April)
Team Quality
Some big names have departed Valencia over the summer with Negredo arriving in the Premier League, whilst André Gomes has joined rivals Barcelona. The big earners have been let off the payroll, whilst doubts will rumble on about Shkodran Mustafi’s future at the Mestalla. Pako Ayestarán has taken over as manager following Gary Neville’s departure, but they look to be the weakest of the top Spanish teams.
Prediction: 5th
Words by @DominicTrant