With the 2026/27 La Liga campaign less than three weeks away the Primera Division’s big guns are jockeying for position in the hope of making a fast start.
The El Clasico pair of Barcelona and Real Madrid are the SBOTOP frontrunners in the pre-season La Liga 2026 betting odds and they have a week further to prepare due to the heavy World Cup commitments of their players. Meanwhile last season’s third placed club, Villarreal have a new manager in Inigo Perez and they will do well to pick up a fourth place, with Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao snapping at their heels.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid finished fourth for the second time in three seasons last year, but they have been top three regulars other than that during Simeone’s 15 year reign, winning the title twice, most recently in 2021. Their long-time manager shows no sign of losing any energy and Los Rojiblancos are a good bet to climb back into the top three, but do they have what it takes to challenge seriously for the 2026/27 title?
Barcelona have been outstanding under Hansi Flick, winning back-to-back titles and the Spain World Cup winning side featured some of the Blaugrana’s finest young and established talent; and they will take some beating again. Over the road at Madrid rivals Real, former manager Jose Mourinho has arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu for his second stint in charge and while Los Blancos have been in the shadow of the Catalans for two seasons, in Kylian Mbappe they have the World Cup Golden Boot winner, and Mourinho remains a world class tactician.
Atleti will be difficult to beat, always, in Spain and in Europe where Simeone’s men reached the Champions League semi-finals last season and he has the core of a winning side at the club. With Slovenian keeper Jan Oblak as the last line of defence behind a centre back partnership of Jose Maria Gimenez and Robin le Normand this is a difficult team to score against; while Simeone has already strengthened a midfield featuring Marcos Llorente and talismanic skipper Koke. Up front the line is led by Norway forward Alexander Sorloth, with winger Alex Baena and Argentine star Giuliano Simeone in support and Simeone has already been dealing heavily in the market with some significant moves both inwards and outwards.
Ins and outs so far
One of the biggest La Liga 2026 news stories this summer was the transfer of Antoine Griezmann to Orlando City, which represents the end of an era at the Wanda Metropolitano. The 35 year old France star is Atleti’s all time top scorer and he bagged both his 200th goal and his 100th assist for the club in a glittering career in La Liga. But for the first time, he wasn’t an automatic starter last term and now is the right time for Griezmann to take on a new challenge.
The Atleti money men have already splashed a cool 100m Euros on incomings and they aren’t finished yet.
Lee Kang-In has arrived in a 40m Euros move from Paris Saint- Germain and, while he isn’t a direct replacement for Griezmann Lee is an adaptable forward who can play out wide or behind the central strikers, and with 11 goals in 50 games for South Korea he is an established international star at just 25 years of age.
Denmark’s defensive midfielder Morten Hjulmand has arrived for a similar fee from Sporting Lisbon while left wingback Alex Grimaldo has flown in from Bayer Leverkusen in a 20m Euros move and fresh from his World Cup adventure with Spain.
In terms of other outgoings French centre back Clement Lenglet has gone to Benfica while forward Nico Gonzalez has headed to Juventus, but the biggest deal in the rumour mill is a possible transfer of Argentine striker Julian Alvarez. The former Manchester City star has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, and he has made no secret of his admiration for the Catalans, but the latest word is that Arsenal are hoping to make a move for Alvarez with a potential swap deal on the cards. Atletico are certainly keen to avoid selling a golden asset to a direct rival and reports in England suggest the Premier League champions may be ready to offer Swedish hitman Viktor Gyokeres as a swap. Following his arrival from Sporting Lisbon last summer Gyokeres struggled to find early season consistency, but he scored some crucial goals in the Gunners’ successful title run in.
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