Spanish La Liga title race

Spanish football continues to be at the forefront of the sport, with a number of the world’s best players. Barcelona head into the La Liga season as the defending champions and favourites for the title on  online betting sites. Here we cover the leading contenders for the title at this early stage.

Barcelona are the general 4/6 favourites, which is little surprise as they head in having won each of the last two seasons. They are also 26 time La Liga champions, with the first coming back in 1929. They finished with a big winning margin of 11 points over runners-up Atletico Madrid, so are again the team to beat this season.

Barcelona were busy in the transfer window over the summer, bringing in a number of players such as goalkeeper Neto from Valencia. However, there two main transfers were central midfielder Frenkie de Jong from Ajax and of course Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid. The latter will be expected to make a major impact as one of the top players in the world, who helped lead France to World Cup victory last year.

Barcelona have made a stuttering start to the campaign, with just one victory from their opening three fixtures. This was a 5-2 victory over Real Betis at the Camp Nou. Prior to this they had been beaten on the opening day of the season by Athletic Bilbao.

Real Madrid are the general second favourites for the title and can be supported at 7/4. They are the most successful club side in the world, so are always expected to challenge for the title. They have also won the La Liga title a record 33 times but have only picked up one title in the last seven years, with this coming back in the 2016-17 season.

Real Madrid have also brought in a number of players, as they look to return to their best. They finished 19 points behind Barcelona last season, so need to improve greatly following a poor season. Players who have joined Real Madrid include Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao and Luka Jovic. The key transfer for was the big money signing of Eden Hazard from Chelsea. They will be hopeful the Belgium international can make a major impact at the club following his recent success for club and country.

Real have also made a stuttering start to the current La Liga season, winning just one of their opening three fixtures. This came in the opening day of the season as the won 3-1 away at Celta Vigo. They followed this up with draws against both Valladolid and Villarreal.

Atletico Madrid also start amongst the favourites and can be supported at 7/1, as they look to win their 11th top flight title. They have finished as runners-up the last two seasons, so will be hoping to go one better this season. There last top flight title came back in 2014 but prior to this you have to go back to 1996 to their last top flight title victory.

Atletico Madrid have also brought in a large number of players following the big money sale of Antoine Griezmann. This includes the likes of Lodi, Felipe, Trippier, Hermoso and Marcos Llorente. Their main signing came in the shape of 19 year old Joao Felix from Benfica for around £113 million and he is one of the most exciting young players in world football. They will be hoping he can play a major role moving forward.

Atletico have started the season in strong form, winning all three games. This started with a 1-0 victory at home to Getafe, before a 1-0 win away at Leganes. Atletico then came from 2-0 down to Eibar, before winning 3-2 as Thomas Partey picked up the 90th minute winner.