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Can rivals step up the fight against Real?
AGENCIES
After a summer dominated by Spain, with La Roja storming to Euro 2024 triumph and their youngsters claiming gold at the Paris Olympics, the focus now turns to Spain once again as LaLiga kicks off on Thursday.
Athletic Club will begin proceedings by hosting Getafe tonight before Real Betis face Girona at home later on the day.
But the big guns will be back in action a bit later. Barcelona travel to Valencia for their opener on Saturday night while defending champions Real Madrid, who were scheduled to vie for a record sixth UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta in Warsaw last night, will be hosted by Mallorca in exactly 24 hours.
Real the favourites
It will be no surprise that Real, the reigning Champions League winners, are overwhelming favourites for another successful domestic run with Kylian Mbappe boosting Carlo Ancelotti’s already enviable squad.
Real will be without Toni Kroos after his retirement. Luka Modric and Federico Valverde are in the squad to plug gaps but don’t provide the ability to spread passes and read the game as well as the German midfielder did.
While Real might have a few problems in midfield, the long-awaited arrival of Mbappe to form a deadly forward line alongside established stars like Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. To add to the firepower, Real will have Brazilian teenage sensation Endrick who will put Real ahead of most teams in the league.
They will also have first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Eder Militao, who had missed almost the entirety of the previous season, available from the beginning.
German era at Barca
In a major change at Barcelona, Hansi Flick has taken over the role of head coach from club legend Xavi.
Flick recently had a rough spell as Germany manager and is hoping for a more positive experience as he returns to club football. He had spoken of emulating Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff’s style but the fact that they lost 3-0 to Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy shows the tough task ahead.
Barca have brought in one of Spain’s Euro 2024 heroes Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig but the club have not been able to register their £46m signing with LaLiga owing to their financial constraints.
Moreover, Barcelona also have injury issues going into the season. Ronald Araujo, Pedri, Gavi, and Frenkie de Jong are all nursing injuries, meaning Flick will have his work cut out if he plans to overthrow Real from the throne in his debut season for which he might need to depend on 17-year-old Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal to continue his stellar form.
Atletico rebuild to end Real-Barca dominance
After winning the title in 2020-21, Atletico Madrid have finished third, third, and fourth last season -- being pipped by Girona.
But Diego Simeone’s men will hope to rectify that and give Real and Barcelona a run for their money as they have made some significant changes in personnel for the season. The headline signing has been the one of Argentine World Cup winner Julian Alvarez from Manchester City in a reported deal worth approximately $104 million.
Upfront with Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth will play a key role after arriving from Villarreal fresh from scoring 23 goals in last league campaign.
They have also bolstered their backline by signing Robin Le Normand from Real Sociedad.
Who could cause a surprise?
Girona did that job last season. Real Betis may do it this time, but maybe not to the extent that Michel’s side did. Managed by Manuel Pellegrini, playmakers Isco and Nabil Fekir can help Betis beat anyone on their day.