European Football Season Preview

The 2020/2021 Football season has gone underway with the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A all in action. The Premier League has been covered, so this is on the Bundesliga, La Liga, and Serie A to look at how this season will pan out from the title race to the race for European places. 

La Liga

The 2020/2021 La Liga season started on the 12th of September with Eibar playing against Celta Vigo, which ended in a goalless draw. The likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético Madrid rested on the first weekend due to their participation in the latter stages of the Champions League last season. Barcelona has dominated La Liga over the past decade, winning six titles between 2011 to 2020. However, the Blaugrana missed out on the title last season to Real Madrid, with Zidane's side favourites to retain La Liga this season. Barcelona's troubles both on and off the field have not made things a lot easier, with heavy surgery required to get close to their main rivals. Also, Ronald Koeman is not an inspired appointment for the Barça faithful, and he will have to do a lot to be in the Barcelona job beyond this season, with the Presidential elections coming up and the leading candidate Victor stating that if elected he will appoint Xavi. Atlético Madrid has been the third-best team in the league but has not challenged Barcelona and Real Madrid for the league title over the past couple of years. With Barcelona in turmoil, and Madrid still reliant on their old guard, Diego Simeone's side has to take this opportunity to make a proper title challenge. However, they could lose the likes of Alvaro Morata, Thomas Partey, and Santiago Arias, which will hurt their chances this season. Sevilla is strong favourites to finish in the final Champions League spot but will face competition from Villarreal, Real Sociedad, and Getafe. Valencia seems to be in an absolute meltdown with their owner Peter Lim, and with a free sell of their squad, they could struggle a lot this season, potentially finish in the bottom half. Cadiz, Elche, and Huesca have come up from the Segunda Division will their main aim to stay in the division but Levante, Real Valladolid, and Eibar could be close to the relegation zone this season. The Spanish top flight this season will be one to look at this season, with Real Madrid potentially consolidating their grip in La Liga, Barcelona sinking further, a hot top four race, Valencia going mad, etc.

Bundesliga

The Bundesliga started on the 18th of September with Bayern Munich starting their title defence with a resounding 8-0 victory over Schalke 04. Bayern Munich continues their dominance in Germany, winning the Meisterschale for the past seven years. Last season, Bayern won the lot. Winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and, the Champions League. Hansi Flick has been a lot to make Bayern an ultra killing machine, winning their last 22 games in all competitions with their last defeat coming in December. Although they have lost Thiago, their squad is still perfect with the addition of Leroy Sane from Manchester City. They are so good right now that them winning the Meisterschale is just an inevitability, which is disappointing for the neutrals who would want a title race this season. The battle for second place will be between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig this season. Leipzig had a fine season under Julian Nagelsmann but have lost striker Timo Werner, which is a big blow as he was their main goal threat, scoring 28 goals. Unlike Leipzig, Dortmund has not lost any significant player as of now with Jadon Sancho still linked with a move to Manchester United. Many eyes will be on Eerling Halaand, who is playing his first full season for the Black and Yellow, impressing since moving to January. American forward Gio Reyna looks to get more game time this season whether Sancho stays or not, plus the additions of Jude Bellingham and Reinier. Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen look to compete again for the final Champions League spot. Gladbach could do a lot better this season under Marco Rose with Marcus Thuram, Dennis Zakaria, and Alessane Plea key players for Gladbach  but there could be trouble for Leverkusen this season, losing both Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland, who scored 22 goals between them last season. Schalke could potentially struggle to stay in the Bundesliga. They have been on a decline over the past couple of years and have flirted with relegation, finishing 14th in 2019. With how bad their form was at the end of last season, with no wins since January and financial troubles, we could see a household name in the Bundesliga get relegated this season. A surprise this season could be Eintracht Frankfurt, who finished ninth but were heavily constrained with the demands of the Europa League. So with no European football, they could have a go for the top-seven this season. With the 2020/2021 season started, all we can hope for is some strong competition for places this season.

Serie A

The Italian Serie A started on the 19th of September with Fiorentina hosting Torino, which ended 1-0 to La Viola. This season is quite exciting as there could be a different winner to the Scudetto. Juventus are the defending champions and have won the Scudetto since 2012, holding their grip on Italian football, as well as seeing off the likes of Napoli and AS Roma, who have challenged the Bianconeri for the title over the years but were unable to win the title. This season, however, we might be seeing some cracks in the Juventus armour. They may have defended the title but lost seven games lasts season, more than Inter Milan and Atalanta. Their laboured way of playing under Maurizio Sarri plus their early elimination in the Champions League cost the former Napoli manager his job, with former Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo appointed to take over the job. Inter Milan look to be Juventus' closest rivals and have a squad that could potentially win Serie A this season. They have a title-winning manager in Antonio Conte, a strike partnership in Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, and their midfield of Brozovic, Barella, and Sensi. However, for Inter to beat Juventus to the title, they have to be constantly good over the season, as they drew ten games last season plus losing both games to Juventus. Atalanta was the team many watched last season, as they wowed us with their attacking football, scoring 98 goals last season. There could be a heated race for the top four this season between Lazio, AS Roma, AC Milan and, Napoli this season. Lazio finished fourth last season with Ciro Immobile scoring 36 goals, winning the Capocannoniere. Roma had an okay season under manager Paulo Fonseca but are still reliant on their old guard like Edin Dzeko, who has been linked with a move away from the Olimpico. AC Milan is entering this season with some optimism, particularly signing midfielder Andrea Tonali while Napoli has let go of some of their major players like Allan but has spent big on landing Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen from Lille. With your usual suspects like Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, and Ciro Immobile, this Serie A season is one that many should follow, given the prospect of a title race that could go all the way to the final day.