La Liga has made its long-awaited return on 11th June as Sevilla managed to defeat their local rivals Real Betis 2-0. However, with the perennial challengers of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid so closely matched at the top of the table, most of the anticipation centres on the direction the title race is going to head.
Neither side have been at their illustrious best and are certain to land well short of their respective totals in the legendary 2009/10 season in which
Los Blancos finished second with a mighty 96 points to Barcelona’s even mightier 99. The flaws of the current sides, however, only serve to increase the intrigue around the title race as both teams are capable of slipping up during the run-in.
Barcelona sacked Ernesto Valverde in January this year, becoming the first manager to be sacked by the club
mid-season since Louis van Gaal in 2003, and replaced him with the former Real Betis head coach Quique Setien. Although he made a reasonable start to his tenure with 6 wins in 8 matches prior to the break, this run has been bookended by defeats to Valencia and more damningly Real Madrid at the start of March. Having taken over mid-season Setien will still be in the process of impressing his own identity of style of play on the first team and Real Madrid may feel there is an opportunity.
Barcelona remain in pole position, however, with
odds on La Liga, the professional football league in Spain placing the team as 8/15 favourites to take the title. Perhaps this is because Real Madrid are not without problems of their own, with Zinedine Zidane’s first full season yet to bring about a re-discovery of the magic which led them to three consecutive Champions League titles under his management. Goals, in particular, have been hard to come by with
Zidane being forced to defend his style of play following criticism of their performances at the turn of the year. Even in the Champions League, where they stand clear as the most successful club of all time, they lost 2-1 at home in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg to Manchester City.
Despite the indifferent form of both clubs, it is clear from the talent available that strong runs of form and moments of brilliance are never far away. The maestro Lionel Messi may yet again inspire Barcelona towards their 27th league title or Zidane may rediscover his managerial midas touch just in time for the business end of the season. With so many factors at play,
La Liga tips from Paddy Power News will offer punters key insights into the momentum of the title race as the season heads towards its conclusion.
With no El Clasico games left in the league season, both clubs will be placing their hopes in the other clubs stepping up to the plate against their historic rivals as we barrel towards the climax. The season’s end threatens to be very unpredictable and, for the neutrals amongst us, hopefully this means drama awaits.