5 things to watch this season in La Liga
Barcelona chase a historic three-peat, Jose Mourinho returns to the Bernabeu, and the World Cup hangover delays both giants' openers. Here's what to look out for as La Liga's 2026-27 season begins.
1. Can Barcelona complete a three-peat?
A third straight title would take Barcelona to 30 La Liga crowns overall — a feat they haven't managed since Pep Guardiola's side swept the league three years running from 2008 to 2011. Opta's data model rates them as clear favourites to pull it off again, putting the odds at 45.6%.
2. Mourinho's Real Madrid reboot
Real Madrid go into the season with Jose Mourinho back in charge on a three-year deal, returning to the Bernabeu for a second spell more than a decade after his first stint between 2010 and 2013. Real are without a major trophy across the last two campaigns, and Opta rates their title chances at 31% — second-favourites behind Barcelona as Mourinho looks to get them winning again.
3. The World Cup hangover delays the big kick-off
La Liga's new season starts on Saturday, 15 August, but neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid are involved in the opening round. Both clubs had multiple players deep in this summer's World Cup — Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres were part of Spain's title-winning squad, while Real's Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni reached the semi-finals with France and Jude Bellingham took bronze with England. As a result, Real Madrid's campaign doesn't start until 22 August away at Espanyol, with Barcelona following a day later at Elche.
4. New faces to watch at both giants
Real Madrid have been the summer's biggest spenders, bringing in right-back Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan, left-back Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, centre-back Ibrahima Konate as a free agent from Liverpool, veteran midfielder Bernardo Silva on a free from Manchester City, and teenage winger Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig for a club-record fee. Barcelona have moved too, adding Newcastle's Anthony Gordon and Borussia Dortmund's Karim Adeyemi to freshen up their forward line.
5. Who fills the gaps behind the top two?
Behind the top two, Opta's model doesn't rate anyone else highly. Atletico Madrid, who ended last season fourth and empty-handed, lead that chasing pack at just 8.6%, with Villarreal (3.3%) and Real Betis (2.1%) further back still. At the other end of the table, newly promoted Deportivo, back in La Liga for the first time since 2017-18, are Opta's top candidates for an immediate return to the second tier, with Sevilla and Elche also under pressure after difficult recent seasons.