Barca or Real? La Liga starts the next round

Teams from Spain have dominated European competitions for years. Real Madrid has won the premier class three times in a row and four of the last five Europa League winners came from the country on the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, the best players of this decade, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have always played for a Spanish club.

However, the title fights in the Spanish league look similarly elitist. Only two teams have a realistic chance of lifting the championship trophy next spring.

Real Madrid or FC Barcelona? There are no other names when talking about the title candidates. No one else in Spain has such high team and individual quality as the two football giants. Barcelona are slightly favored in the race for the title because, unlike Real, they have not had any serious departures and there are enough quality players in the squad to compensate for the departure of Andres Iniesta.

Andres Iniesta (right) left Barca in the summer. © APA/afp / BEN STANSALL

The Royals will try to counteract the departure of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo with an outstanding team performance under their new coach Julen Lopetegui. Nevertheless, they will miss the superstar Ronaldo in some situations.

Will Real miss: Cristiano Ronaldo. © APA/afp / GABRIEL BOUYS

Hot contenders for the Champions League places are Atletico Madrid, Sevilla (last year the Andalusians only reached Europa League qualification), Villarreal (with the returnee Santi Cazorla, who moved from Arsenal to his youth club) and Valencia, with the New additions Michy Batshuayi and Kévin Gameiro. Diego Simeone's team is the most likely candidate for third place. The remaining teams will most likely face a tough fight for the last Champions League ticket. First promotion, then descent? Last season, none of the promoted teams were relegated back to the Segunda Division. In all likelihood, there won't be anything like that this year. The relegation candidates are Huseca, Rayo Vallecano, Levante, Leganes and Real Valladolid. The Castilians, from the 300.000-inhabitant city of Valladolid, northeast of Madrid, were able to secure a starting place in the Primera Division by finishing fifth in the play-offs. Celta Vigo and Alaves will probably also be found in the lower part of the table, but they are not among the hottest relegation candidates. Superstars in the league meeting After Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi outshines everyone else. Nobody will even come close to reaching their level next season. With five Ballon d'Or, he is one of the best players of all time. At Barcelona, however, he is not the only star in the team. Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic are just some of FC Barcelona's many world-class players.

Gareth Bale should take over the Ronaldo legacy. © APA/afp / JAVIER SORIANO

Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio will fill Ronaldo's place in the attack at Real Madrid as best as possible. The offensive forces are supported by the concentrated power that comes from the midfield. The showpieces Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are particularly important. The best player at the World Cup in Russia was recently linked with a move to Serie A to Inter. In addition to the two outstanding ball artists, many other world stars will also be on the green lawn in the Spanish stadiums.

Of course, we shouldn't forget Antoine Griezmann, who has been Atletico Madrid's most dangerous player for years. The newly crowned world champion will be supported by his national team colleague Thomas Lemar. The 22-year-old Lemar came to the Spanish capital from Monaco this summer for 65 million euros. Atletico's hopes rest on him: Antoine Griezmann. © APA/afp / JAVIER SORIANO

Someone whose name has been synonymous with good performances and goals for years is Iago Aspas. The now 31-year-old plays for Celta Vigo and regularly scores goals and points there. At the age of 31, Cristhian Stuani had the best season of his life. With his goals, the Uruguayan helped promoted Girona to an outstanding 10th place. It remains to be seen whether the striker, who is dangerous in the air, will maintain his outstanding form next season. New and interesting With the exception of Atletico Madrid's league win in the 2013/14 season, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona mostly dueled. Together, the two giants of the football world won 58 championship titles (33 Real Madrid and 25 FC Barcelona).

A novelty in Spain: From next season, the games will be played according to an asymmetrical game calendar. This means that the opponent on the 1st matchday is not the opponent on the 20th matchday, but rather the opponent on the 38th and last. The Premier League already follows this pattern, and now La Liga is following suit.

ES Primera Division International	SP	TV	P
1. Real Madrid	33	71:22	84
2.Girona F.C.	33	69:40	71
3. FC Barcelona	32	64:37	70
4. Atletico Madrid	33	62:39	64
5. Athletic Bilbao	33	53:33	58
6. Royal Society	33	46:35	51
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Barca or Real? La Liga starts the next round

One of the five best leagues in Europe starts this Friday. Who can triumph in the championship this time? Who will manage to get one of the coveted starting places for the European competitions? And who has to fight against relegation?

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