A New Season of Spanish La Liga Starts Today

One of the most exciting football leagues in Europe resumes this weekend as top teams of La Liga play in the opening rounds. Many of the favorites have home pitch advantage and are expected to kickstart their season with comfortable victories. At the same time, the first round will delight football fans with the derby between Atletico Madrid and Valencia, as well as other potentially high-scoring matches.

No Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid

The reigning Champions League winners play in front of their fans this weekend, as they take on city rivals Getafe. Home pitch advantage and a flawless track record explain why there are only given odds of 1/5 bet365 sports. Even so, this is the first official match they play in the Spanish first division without Cristiano Ronaldo. Other strikers will try to step up and score against a team that has always had a hard time playing at Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona also has an easy match against Alaves and punters would have to bet on them to cover the -2.5 goals spread to get decent odds of 4/5.

Atletico Madrid and Valencia Meet in the First Derby

Arguably the most exciting match of the first round of the Spanish first division will be played on Monday. The decision to save the best for last is not necessarily a surprise and football fans have plenty to look forward to in this match. 888 Sport gives the same chances to the opposing teams, and that’s because Atletico Madrid plays on the road. 13/10 is a decent value to bet on the visitors to prevail after they also defeated Real Madrid in the Super Cup. A draw is priced at 21/10, which is worth considering given the fact that the last match at Mestalla was also a draw.

Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao Hope for a Better Season

Last year was downright disappointing for both Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao who finished beneath their potential. This season, they hope for better results and will try to start the new year with a victory. The former will play on the road and are expected to have a hard time against newly promoted Vallecano. bet365 sports offers odds of 11/10 on their victory, while the hosts are priced at 23/10. Athletic Bilbao has a slightly better chance to prevail at home against Leganes and only get odds of 4/5.

Difficult Task for Newly Promoted Teams

Ray Vallecano, Huesca and Valladolid have all returned to the Spanish first division. Their goal for the season is to avoid relegation and they will all have a difficult task at achieving this goal. As mentioned above, Vallecano plays at home against Sevilla and can start with a second chance. Huesca has an even more difficult task on the road at Eibar and Winner Sports has odds of 4/1 on them to prevail. It’s not going to be easy for Valladolid to prevail on the road at Girona, in a series where home pitch advantage was always important. None of the newly promoted teams are regarded as favorites to win the first round.