Barcelona go into the new Liga season looking to do what no team has managed for five seasons, defend their title. Barca were actually the last team to achieve the feat when they won the league for three consecutive seasons between 2009 and 2011. Fierce rivals Real Madrid are the Catalan’s main threat. You have to go back to the 1993/94 season to find the last time Los Blancos went four years without topping the Liga. That will heap huge pressure on Rafa Benitez, the latest manager to walk through the revolving door at the Bernabeu.
Atletico Madrid won La Liga just two years ago but almost nobody expects something similar this season. Atletico are as big as 20/1 with Ladbrokes to win the league but in the market without the big two they are just 8/11 with Betfred and they look to have third place almost sewn up.
La Liga Title Contenders
- Barcelona – It’s going to be close between Barcelona and Real Madrid and the league Clasico matches are bound to be hugely important. Ladbrokes make the Catalan giants 4/6 favourites and who could argue? They’ve got the deadly front three that scored over 100 goals last year and their defence was the meanest in the league last season. Luis Enrique knows his team will have to hit the same heights this term that they managed during the last because they clinched the title last year by just two points.
- Real Madrid – Despite all the talk of Barcelona’s attack it was actually Real who topped the scoring charts last season with a ridiculous 118 goals. Two defeats against city rivals Atletico hurt them big but it was their away form and their defence that really cost them. Given the strength of the attacking options available to Benitez he can spend the majority of his time working on the defence which could just pay dividends. They’re 13/8 with Bet365 to overcome those two points.
- Atletico Madrid – Diego Simeone’s time in charge at Atletico has been characterised by having his team impress during the season and then watching as the biggest clubs in Europe pick said team apart in the summer. This summer the big exit was Arda Turan who has joined Barcelona, but the Argentine has managed without other big players and they will once again be expecting to be runners up to the big two – at least
- Valencia – The strength of the top two means that you don’t have to go far down the outright market to find some pretty big prices. Valencia, who finished fourth last season, are available at 66/1 with Coral. Only Barcelona and Real Madrid were stronger at home than Valencia and they finished just a point behind Atletico so just a modest improvement will see them make another huge push for third.
It will be very difficult for Rafa Benitez to stop Barcelona in his first season in charge but he knows this league incredibly well and Luis Enrique showed last season that rookie managers can lead their teams to glory. Benitez has the squad and loads of money to improve it. With Barca so short, take the 13/8 with Bet365 that Real end their league title drought, with Gareth Bale set to improve and Cristiano Ronaldo sure to score the goals that will give his side a real chance.