Who are the favourites to win La Liga Primera Division?
The new La Liga season has just kicked off following a summer of turmoil for some of the bigger teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona. Last year Atletico Madrid broke the stranglehold the Clasico rivals had on the La Liga title, and the question is are they a good bet as La Liga outright winners? We’ve put together some analysis, match predictions and betting tips to help you choose who you think will bring the title home.
Who are the Favourites to win La Liga?
In past seasons picking the La Liga Primera Division Outright Winner was a choice between one of two clubs but that might not be the case this year. The departure of Lionel Messi coupled with the money worries for the big two means that it’s just possible other teams will have a chance. We’ve outlined the favourites below:
Real Madrid 2.20
The bookies have named Real Madrid as the outright favourites to win La Liga this year, which is not much of a surprise considering the host of galaticos they still have playing for them. The return of Carlo Ancelotti to the manager’s seat has been welcomed by the Los Merengues fans while the signing of David Alaba will help strengthen a defence which has has seen the departure of club legend Sergio Ramos and French international Raphael Varane.
In attack Real Madrid should be strong; Karim Benzema has been much improved in recent times while young Brazilian pair Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo offer creativity and trickery from wide positions. However they do look short at the back; only Alaba, Eder Militao and Nacho are recognised centre-backs in the squad and one would think an injury or two could leave Ancelotti either scratching around the Castilla squad or moving a full back inside to cover.
For this reason, at 2.20 it seems Real Madrid just are not good value to back.
Barcelona 4.00
The departure of Lionel Messi has hit Barcelona hard; a talismanic player who has been the centre of everything good that Barcelona has done is going to be incredibly hard to replace. What further adds to that issue is the money worries Barcelona have; even with Messi gone and Pique reducing his wages the club still needs to move on deadwood to get the club into a reasonable shape.
There is hope in youth; Ansu Fati has played 31 games already for Barcelona in La Liga despite only being 18 while Pedri comes off a remarkable season where he played 73 games for club and country. Teenage midfielder Ilaix Moriba could also make the step up again from Barcelona B to help cover the senior side. Barcelona have also brought in experience, signing Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay on free transfers from Manchester City and Lyon respectively. Aguero is already injured though and it might be that the English champions let go of their talisman because they realised his body cannot keep up to the rigours of top football for a whole season.
At 4.00 Barcelona are better value than Real Madrid but it will be worth watching how badly they are affected by the Messi departure. A couple of bad games to start with and the knives will be out quickly.
Atletico Madrid 4.50
Atletico capped off a wonderful season last year by winning the La Liga title for the first time since 2014 and only the second time by a club that isn’t Real Madrid or Barcelona since 2004. Diego Simeone has built a team which is strong and resolute and has a knack for keeping clean sheets.
Simeone has kept tight hold of the purse strings, only bringing in Rodrigo de Paul from Udinese to bolster the midfield and deciding against signing loanees Moussa Dembele or Lucas Torreira permanently. Luis Suarez added some bite to attack last season and while Joao Felix might not have been the complete success, he should continue to grow in what is a very good tight knit team.
It’s going to be very hard for Atletico to defend their title but if they can continue to be as tight at the back as they have been in recent years then it’s possible they can once again be up there. At 4.50 the odds aren’t as generous as they might have been in past years but it could well be worth a punt.
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