La Liga 19/20 Season Preview

The Spanish La Liga makes its return this weekend with all 20 teams have a renewed feeling of hope and success this upcoming season. This will be exclusively be on the top three teams in the division namely Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. All three teams have done a tremendous amount of business this summer but what will that bring this season for each of them?

• Atlético Madrid

Last season, many tipped Atlético Madrid to take Barcelona all the way in the title race. However, that wasn't the case. Los Rojiblancos finished 2nd but were 11 points behind the Champions Barcelona which was very disappointing as they were far behind for much of last season. This season is one for change in Atléti. The likes of Juanfran, Felipe Luís and Diego Godín, who have been crucial to Atlético's success under Simeone are gone. Key assets like Antonie Grizemann, Rodri, Lucas Hernández have also gone for big money with a combined total of €270m. Atlético have lost key players but have spent big, signing Portuguese wonderkid João Félix for €126m from Benfica. They have also signed Marcos Llorente, Kieran Trippier, Felipe and Héctor Herrera as well to freshen up the squad. Atléti under Simeone have a clear distinct way of playing but with those players who are critical to that now gone, does that mean Simeone will set up Atlético differently this season? Perhaps not as which we have seen last season despite the attacking signings they made last year, so it's whether the new players will adjust to Simeone's ways. It's very unlikely that they will make a sustained challenge for the title this season and with the heavy turnover, they could be further away from the top two. 

• Real Madrid 

The 2018/19 season was a season to forget for Real Madrid. They finished 3rd with 68 points, 19 points behind Barcelona. The biggest gap between the two since 1985. Madrid had three managers last season with Zinedine Zidane back at the helm. He has swiftly taken action, signing Eden Hazard for €100m plus the likes of Luka Jović, Ferland Mendy, Éder Militão and Rodrygo. Zidane's previous success at the Bernabéu relied on the experienced heads in the dressing room from Sergio Ramos, Luka Modrić, Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, which was fruitful. Winning three Champions League titles and a La Liga title. Now that he's back, the Frenchman will be overseeing the new makeover with Hazard their first big money signing since James Rodríguez in 2014. However, not everything is going according to plan at Madrid. Zidane has made it public of his desire for Gareth Bale to leave the Bernabéu as the two have never seen eye to eye but Bale is still in Madrid. He will also be without Marco Asensio who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, leaving him out for much of the season. They will look to challenge their fierce rivals for the league title which they have won only twice this decade but it's more unlikely that they will close the gap with the new players coming in and the rift between Zidane and Bale.

• Barcelona 

The Blaugrana won their seven league title this decade last season and their 26th overall but many are still unsatisfied. Firstly, Barcelona won the league with 87 points, their lowest this decade which has to do more their competition being quite poor. Secondly, manager Ernesto Valverde. He is still an unpopular man among the Barça faithful for how the team he sets up the team which is different from the likes of Guardiola and Luis Enrique, and the high profile defeats in the Champions League against Roma and Liverpool after being in a strong position. They also have an ageing squad with Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Ivan Rakitić, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba all are 30 and over. Despite having the likes of Suárez, Dembélé and Coutinho, they have become more and more reliant on Lionel Messi who scored 36 goals and making 13 assists in La Liga last year. Contributing to 54% of Barcelona's total.  They have signed French forward Antonie Grizemann from Atlético Madrid for €120m, Frenkie de Jong from Ajax for €75m, Neto and Junior Firpo. Frenkie de Jong will be the one to watch this season for his skill set as a midfielder as well as his athleticism which Barcelona's midfield has lacked. They have finally signed Grizemann after years of speculation but with best position on the right, which is where Messi plays, is it possible for Valverde to play him, Suárez and Messi together or could he alter the formation to do that? Barcelona's aspirations are quite high this season. Their eyes will be on the Champions League but it's unlikely that Real or Atlético can challenge them for the league title which is why Barcelona are still the team to beat and are likely to defend their title for the third consecutive year.