Spain's top-flight league, La Liga, kicks off the 2026-27 season on Saturday, with several players returning to club duty less than a month after the FIFA World Cup concluded.
Barcelona, whose eight players were part of Spain's World Cup-winning squad, enter the campaign aiming for a 'three-peat' of league titles after winning the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
However, their archrivals Real Madrid have a seasoned manager – Jose Mourinho – at the helm this time, looking to rediscover their winning pedigree after going two seasons without a major trophy.
While all eyes will be on the title tussle between Barca and Real again, they are not in action in the first round of fixtures, which features seven matches and is headlined by Atletico Madrid.
The Opta supercomputer predicts a 45.6% chance of Barcelona completing a hat-trick of league titles, which would bring their total to 30 La Liga championships. Barca have not achieved three in a row since the Pep Guardiola era from 2008 to 2011.
Simulations give Madrid a 31% probability of success under Mourinho, who returns for his second stint at the Bernabeu after being in charge between 2010 and 2013.
Atletico Madrid, who finished fourth last season and failed to win a trophy, are third on Opta's list of favourites with a mere 8.6% chance, followed by Villarreal at 3.3% and Real Betis at 2.1%.
Sevilla, who were embroiled in the relegation fight for the last two seasons, may not survive this time, according to Opta. Sevilla have a 27.7% probability of being relegated, making them the third-likeliest team to go down.
Newcomers Deportivo, back in La Liga for the first time since 2017-18, are the top favourites to be relegated with a 29.2% probability, followed by Elche at 28.4%.
Madrid have been busy in the summer transfer window, signing Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan, Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, and Ibrahima Konate as a free agent from Liverpool. Bernardo Silva also joined on a free deal from Manchester City, while teenage winger Yan Diomande was signed from RB Leipzig for a club-record fee.
Barcelona signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United and Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund.
For local broadcasters, check La Liga's official website. Al Jazeera Sport will also provide live text coverage of select matches throughout the season.
Source: www.aljazeera.com