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Mbappé & Yamal key
©TM/IMAGO
LaLiga returns this weekend with the two giants of Spanish football set to renew one of the fiercest rivalries in the world. Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two favourites to win the title with the general consensus that Atlético Madrid will struggle to keep pace. Barcelona edged their fierce rivals to the LaLiga trophy last season with Hansi Flick enjoying a brilliant debut season at the Catalan club.
The former Bayern Munich manager entrusted several graduates from Barca’s famed La Masia academy, notably Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí, and they handed the second highest amount of minutes to U21 players across the top five leagues. Real Madrid finished four points behind the champions, despite Kylian Mbappé enjoying an impressive maiden season in the Spanish capital with the Frenchman breaking the record for most goals in a debut season at the 15 times Champions League winners. It’s poised to be another thrilling season in LaLiga with plenty of fascinating storylines to emerge and we’ve analysed how the two title favourites are set ahead of their season openers.
How do Barcelona look ahead of LaLiga opener?
There hasn’t been too much upheaval at Barcelona this summer in terms of their squad with only two senior signings. Highly-rated Joan García has arrived from Espanyol for €25 million and he will become their new number one with captain Marc-André ter Stegen’s long-term future uncertain. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has arrived on an initial loan deal from Manchester United and he will push Raphinha, Yamal and Robert Lewandowski for a place in attack. But it’s seldom a truly calm summer at Barcelona and it’s been no different this year.
Ter Stegen has been involved in an unpleasant war of wards with the club hierarchy that resulted in him being stripped of the captaincy, before having it reinstated. The pressing concern for Flick, however, will be Barcelona’s continued financial issues which could prevent him from registering their two new signings for their LaLiga opener against Mallorca on Saturday. On Thursday, Marca reported that Garcia is expected to be registered but Barca are struggling to create enough salary room for Rashford to play. That means Lewandowski could lead to the line, despite the Polish international missing some pre-season games with injuries.
Therefore, Barcelona would reunite the front three that scored 94 goals between them across all competitions last season and Flick will likely field a formidable side against Mallorca. As the graphic above illustrates, Barca’s expected line-up would have a combined market value of €802m. There are world-class players throughout the team with Pedri cementing his status as one of the best midfielders in the world last season, while Fermín López possesses huge potential. Ronald Araujo’s return to full fitness will be a major boost to compliment Cubarsi at centre-back and Barcelona remain the team to beat in Spain.
How do Real Madrid look ahead of LaLiga opener?
Madrid have been far busier in the transfer market as they backed Xabi Alonso heavily ahead of their participation in the Club World Cup. Los Blancos won the race for Dean Huijsen and they completed the protracted deal for Liverpool’s Trent Alexander Arnold. Alonso clearly prioritised strengthening Madrid’s porous defence, which was their weakness last season, and Álvaro Carreras arrived after their elimination from the Club World Cup in the United States. Alonso’s preferred formation is a 3-5-2 and although he used that during the summer, the Spaniard is expected to revert to a 4-3-3 for Madrid’s league opener against Osasuna on Tuesday night.
Madrid’s three defensive recruits are expected to form the back four alongside the returning Eder Militao and they’ve undoubtedly upgraded in the defensive department. Unlike Barcelona, Madrid have injury problems heading into the new season with Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga expected to be sidelined until November. That leaves Alonso short on midfield options but he utilised Arda Güler in a deeper role and the Turkish starlet has impressed after struggling for gametime under Carlo Ancelotti.
Vinicius Junior and Mbappé are guaranteed places in attack but interestingly, Brahim Diaz has been preferred to Rodrygo. There’s been huge speculation surrounding the Brazilian’s future this summer with Madrid expected to cash in before the window closes amid significant interest from several English Premier League clubs. Alonso is regarded as an elite coach and his tactical acumen will be imperative to fix the imbalance of Madrid under Ancelotti last season. Barcelona were dominant in El Clasico's last season, winning all four encounters and Madrid will need to avenge that record to continue their decorated history of winning trophies.
