The 2019/20 season has got fans buzzing, as we have seen some really impressive showings from the teams. From newly promoted Granada drawing 4-4 on opening day with Villarreal to newly-promoted Mallorca getting a 2-1 victory over Eibar and Antoine Griezmann starring in the absence of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi for Barcelona in the 5-2 win over Betis, it is a season pregnant with excitement.
We’re going to take a look at each team and rank each team based on the difficulty they will pose to opponents, to predict the direction of the league this season.
ALAVES
Alaves have been one of the most consistent promoted teams since they came back to the top flight in the 2016/17 season, even beating Barcelona at the Camp Nou that season by 2 goals to 1. Alaves finished 11th last season and have strengthened their strike force this season with two proven La Liga strikers in Lucas Perez and Joselu. They have also brought in the versatile Aleix Vidal on loan to strengthen the right side of attack and defence.
They currently lack creativity as their two most creative players from last season, Jony and Ibai Gomez (who left in the season’s winter transfer window) are no longer with them but the addition of Perez and Joselu could bring back the bite to their attack. Their defence remains unchanged this season and it is a strong point for them, as the pairing of Victor Laguardia and Guillermo Maripan have eked out results in some of the toughest features in La Liga.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 5/10
ATHLETIC CLUB BILBAO
One of the biggest overachievers in world football, as they are one of a few clubs in the top five leagues to have debuted in the top tier of their domestic leagues and have never been relegated, in their 121-year history. What makes this most amazing is that this achievement has only been with local players from the Basque region of Spain, where the club was formed and is based.
With veteran Aritz Aduriz playing a bit part role in his last season of professional football this season and with no new additions to the squad, their only attacking threat this season is Inaki Williams. They have a good midfield that can create the chances and are supported by a solid centre back pairing of Yeray and Inigo Martinez, who were very instrumental to their rise from relegation spots at the beginning of last season to their 8th placed finish. Although have not strengthened their ranks this season – selling players and not acquiring/promoting new ones – they look poised to finish the same as last season.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 6/10
ATLETICO MADRID
They are the club with the most acquisitions this summer in the Spanish top flight and not only did they sign well, the new signings have gelled very well with the team as seen from their pre-season outings.
With a revitalized Diego Costa to lead their attack, Alvaro Morata improving in his link-up play and new signing Joao Felix making them not miss the loss of Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona, they have a lot of goals in the team this season. The addition of box-to-box midfielder, Marcos Llorente, to an already solid midfield has added more depth and creativity to the squad, while the acquisition of blistering wingbacks Kieran Trippier and Renan Lodi means more wide options for the Rojiblancos this season.
If Diego Simeone plays his cards right this season, Atletico could topple Barcelona this season and also pose more of a challenge in the Champions League this season.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 9/10
BARCELONA
Last season didn’t end on the best of notes for Barcelona as they lost the Copa Del Rey final and crashed monumentally out of the Champions League while having uninspiring performances in the final stretches of the La Liga season. This season, they have gone all out in the transfer window, splurging on Atletico for Antoine Griezmann and on Ajax for Frenkie De Jong.
Defensive lapses have been papered over by the brilliance of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in goal and the talismanic Lionel Messi upfront but seeing as there was no notable change to the back (Junior Firpo was brought in from Betis to cover for Alba but may prove to be another unlucky signing for Barcelona), the club will need Messi and Ter Stegen to be at their absolute best again this season. Griezmann, Dembele and Suarez will provide excellent support upfront and the champions may just retain their trophy once more.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 9/10
CELTA DE VIGO
They can count themselves lucky to have Iago Aspas else they’d have been playing Segunda Division football this season after a 17th place finish, secured on the last day of the 2018/19 season. They really struggled to finish chances last season, but they have done some good business this season, acquiring Denis Suarez form Barcelona and Santi Mina from Valencia – both good creators and okay finishers. They will provide some back up for Iago Aspas upfront and this means they are poised to score more goals than they did last season.
However, their defence leaves a lot to be questioned as they have been immensely disappointing at the back for the past two seasons, transforming them from a top-half team to a mid-bottom half team. Joseph Aidoo, brought in from Genk after a season that placed him as one of the revelations of the Belgian league is the only major addition to the team, but he can only do so much in a team that has been heavily reliant on one man who plays in attack and has been suffering from fitness issues for a while.
Celta will concede a lot this season, but their new attack should balance it out.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 4/10
EIBAR
A small club with a big mentality, who have made the Ipurua into a fortress, Eibar promises to be one of the most entertaining teams of the season. They rely heavily on their wide plays and this has worked to devastating effect, as they put in the most crosses of any team in the league last season.
They have successfully made themselves into a mid-table team, moving between 10th and 16th in their five years of top-flight football, and this is due to their bold approach to the game. They don’t have many goals in them, but they are also as balanced defensively and this will keep them in the running for a spot in the top half of the table this season. Also, the arrival of Quique from Deportivo La Coruna in the Segunda division will make them more competitive upfront.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 5/10
ESPANYOL
Espanyol have made themselves into a perpetual top half team and have also made a habit of upsetting the top teams. They also have one of the most loyal fan bases in the league who are ready to raise hell for their team both at home and away, and this will contribute again to another top-half finish this season.
Last season, they finished seventh in the league but they could have done better. On days Borja “The Panda” Iglesias couldn’t perform his magic, they struggled upfront. This will prove a problem for them this season because the panda has left the club to reunite with his old boss at Real Betis and with no proven replacement for their top scorer, it is hard to see them finish in the top half this season.
Their seventh-place finish was also enough to secure Europa League football for them and this will prove to be a distraction for them this season. All depends on the manager, David Gallego’s tactical ability to keep this team as competitive as possible.
DIFFICULTY RANKING 5/10
GETAFE
Arguably the most improved La Liga side, Getafe looks poised to keep their exploits up this season. They just narrowly missed a top-four slot which would have guaranteed them Champions League football but finished fifth which qualifies them for the Europa League this season.
Coming on the back of their best-ever league campaign, where they finished with the joint second-best defensive record of the 2018/19 season, with veteran strike pair Jaime Mata and Jorge Molina who both scored 14 goals each back and showing glimpses of the form they showed last season, they are sure to provide a challenge for other teams this season as well as entertainment for neutrals.
Their European sojourn, however, may prove to be a problem as they don’t seem to have the adequate squad depth to compete on both fronts. Just like with Espanyol, it’ll be up to their manager, Jose Bordalas’ tactical ability to keep this team as competitive as possible.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 7/10
GRANADA
They’re back and they are looking solid enough to stay in the top flight after this season. Their results and performances from the first two match weeks (4-4 against Villareal and a narrow 1-0 loss to Sevilla) have shown the rest of the league that they mean business.
The acquisition of veteran striker Roberto Soldado who is a proven La Liga striker to lead the ranks will add some bite to their attack, and if they keep up the defensive performances which saw them get promoted from the Segunda division with the best defensive record, they are sure to stay up.
Of the three newly promoted teams, they look the sharpest and the most defensively stable, which will prove invaluable in La Liga this season.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 4/10
LEGANES
They took advantage of the loan market last season and it helped them achieve their best ever La Liga finish, finishing 13th in the league. They had 11 players on loan and managed to secure the services of three of their brightest loanees in Martin Braithwaite, Jonathan Silva and Kenneth Omeruo while signing to reinforce key positions in their squad.
Their defensive solidity (none of the top six teams got a win at Butarque) will prove invaluable to them as they aim for another good season and possibly a break into the top half of the league. However, manager Mauricio Pellegrino’s proper handling of Youssef En-Nesyri, who is their brightest spark going forward, will provide more bite in their attack.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 5/10
LEVANTE
Levante finished last season with the league’s fourth-best tally but second-worst defensive record which means they have only one thing to work on this season. They have signed defensive players, but there’s not much confidence surrounding that aspect of their game still as evident from their opening day defeat to Alaves who are just trying to work out their formations for the season.
They still have the goals in them, with Jose Luis Morales “El Commandante” leading the lines and Ruben Rochina and Jose Campana pulling the strings in the middle, but manager Paco Lopez has his work cut out for him if they are going to finish above 15th place this season.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: 3/10
MALLORCA
They came in as the winners of the play-offs having finished fifth in the Segunda Division last season and have already shown readiness to compete at the very top with an opening day victory and a tough display against Real Sociedad who narrowly escaped with a 1-0 victory on match week 2.
However, they still have much to account for in key positions and have done their best to secure the services of several players to shore up these lapses. What manager, Vincente Moreno, needs to do is to build up team confidence and they might just compete for a good spot in the bottom half.
However, this doesn’t seem likely, even with their amazing start to the campaign as their team appears to be the weakest on paper among the teams in the league.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 2/10
OSASUNA
Chimy Avila, Marc Cardona, Robert Ibanez – these are the names that will be on the Osasuna team sheet starting this season. We can say they have done excellent business coming into the top flight, as these players are proven workhorses who can give everything for their team on the pitch.
They also come into the top flight as winners of the Segunda Division and this will fuel their desire to stay up and compete in the league. They will need to shore up their midfield properly and maintain the defensive level that saw them cruise to the Segunda title last season, and also work on their away record.
As with the three newly promoted teams, manager Jagoba Arrasate will need to be tactically sharp to just beat the drop, because he has a solid squad to work with.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: 4/10
REAL BETIS
Some would say they had a terrible transfer window as they couldn’t figure out a way to secure a permanent deal for Jese Rodriguez and losing two of their brightest sparks of the season in Giovanni Lo Celso and Junior Firpo. The most notable loss would be the loss of former manager Quique Setien, who made them exciting to watch last season.
The arrival of Iglesias who is coming off the back of a brilliant season with Espanyol, Nabil Fekir and Juanmi will definitely bolster both attack and midfield for Los Verdiblancos and with their backline and midfield largely unchanged, they are sure to provide a challenge this season.
However, the transition from Setien to new manager Rubi will shake their foundations a bit. It all depends on how quickly they adapt to Rubi’s playing style else the 10th place finish from last season may look like a dream to fans of the club.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 5/10
REAL MADRID
Los Blancos have pulled off another Galacticos summer by splashing out the cash on Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic, as well as acquiring some of the world’s highly-rated youngsters in Rodrygo and Takefusa Kubo, but pre-season showings have left much to be talked about concerning the state of the club.
Poor showings from the midfield leaving the backline exposed, and no adequate backup to Casemiro in the holding midfield role will provide an opening that can be exploited by tactically adept managers in the league but with Zinedine Zidane at the helm, it should be an interesting season to watch as they battle city rivals Atletico and Clasico rivals Barcelona for the crown this season.
Also, Zidane has shown a willingness to rotate from the first two matchdays of the season and a quality squad like Madrid’s with adequate rest will be even more dangerous for all La Liga sides this season.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 9/10
REAL SOCIEDAD
It’s hard to rank Sociedad because of their interesting forays into the market in the offseason (acquired Martin Odegaard on loan and Alexander Isak) and their having one of the youngest squads in the league. They also have been the most inconsistent team in the league for the past few seasons making it very hard to predict any of their matches.
However, the new look Sociedad may spring up surprises and manager Imanol Alguacil looks poised to unleash his team on the league.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 4/10
SEVILLA
Sevilla has undergone an overhaul this season. They have a new coach – Julen Lopetegui and have fielded a totally different squad from what fans and neutrals are used to. This makes them as unpredictable as Sociedad but with quality replacements for the departed Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder in Luuk De Jong and Lucas Ocampos, they are sure to challenge for top six as they always have done.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 6/10
VALENCIA
Valencia are the Arsenal of La Liga, as they have become accustomed to the fourth position. They have also made it a habit to start slow and then pick up as the season progresses, and this season is no different as they have drawn one and lost one in the opening two match weeks of the 2019/20 season.
The standout performances came from the middle of the park for Valencia as captain Dani Parejo bossed every match and made the other midfielders in La Liga look small. His dynamic performances earned him his first international call-up in a season that also saw him lead his team to a first silverware in many years, as they beat Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey final.
With the arrival of Maxi Gomez from Celta to provide height in attack which they lacked in the previous season, and Jasper Cillessen from Barcelona who is much more solid than Neto and better with his feet, Marcelino’s Arsenal is loaded and ready to be unleashed on the rest of the league this season.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 7/10
VALLADOLID
The Ronaldo-owned club live to fight another season and they have started well, getting a win over Betis and a draw versus Madrid in the opening match weeks. They survived the 2018/19 season, a feat many did not expect, as they were arguably the weakest side on paper coming into the season, and now they are showing signs of that fight that kept them in the league for the 2019/20 season.
They have also identified the problems in their team (worst goalscoring record in the league last season) and made moves by acquiring a few wingers and strikers to add more bite to their attack, but manager Sergio Gonzalez will have to do a lot to keep them in the league beyond this season because compared to the newly promoted teams (with the exception of Mallorca), their squad is still Segunda bound.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 3/10
VILLARREAL
Villarreal are the surprise team of the league last season after their 14th place finish, because they have finished in the top six of La Liga for the past 6 seasons and are rarely outside the top ten in occasions which they don’t. This season too, they have not started well after losing a four-goal lead on opening day to draw 4-4 versus newly promoted Granada.
The brightest spark of the season for Valencia, youngster Samuel Chukwueze, has been given a more prominent role this season and with the addition of Alberto Moreno to their attacking ranks, they can be a brilliant attacking force this season.
Manager Javier Calleja still has work to do on the defence if they are to regain their past glory and convince fans that last season was a one-off.
DIFFICULTY RANKING: 5/10
We are looking forward to a high scoring season as the most strengthened position across all teams is in the attack, as well as a season full of entertainment and a lot of surprises.
