Key talking points as La Liga begins

Spain’s top flight kicks off the 2026/27 season on Saturday, although defending champions Barcelona and Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid are not in action yet.

AFP Sport looks at five talking points going into the first round of fixtures.

Giants must wait

Due to many of their players being involved in the latter stages of the World Cup, Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid will not play their first matches until next weekend.

Hansi Flick’s Barca, back-to-back La Liga winners, visit Elche on August 23, a day after Mourinho’s first match at the helm of Real Madrid in his second spell at the club, away at Espanyol.

Much of the intrigue heading into the season concerns whether the Portuguese coach can revive a Madrid side after two seasons without a major trophy, as well as how Los Blancos’ several summer signings bed in.

As well as the postponements for Barca and Madrid’s matches against Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad respectively, Atletico Madrid’s first game against Malaga was pushed back by a few days to August 19.

Real Betis’s scheduled visit to Valencia will also not take place on the opening weekend for the same reason.

Atletico’s Alvarez issue

Atletico Madrid kick off their season with the Julian Alvarez transfer saga still unresolved, although the Rojiblancos say they are not planning on selling him to Barcelona.

The forward wants to move but has returned to training with his team-mates. With his holidays finishing later than most after Argentina reached the World Cup final, and amid the speculation of a potential departure, it is not likely that Alvarez starts Atletico’s first match.

However he could be involved in some capacity and face heavy criticism from Atletico’s supporters at the Metropolitano stadium on Wednesday.

Diego Simeone’s side finished last season empty-handed and came fourth in La Liga, with the Rojiblancos hoping to be significantly stronger in the top flight this season, with or without the Argentine forward.

Perez at Villarreal

Villarreal impressed in La Liga last season as they came third under Marcelino Garcia Toral, who departed at the end of the campaign and has been replaced by Inigo Perez.

The 38-year-old coach earned praise for his work at Rayo Vallecano, whom he led to the Conference League final, earning the step up to helm the Yellow Submarine.

With exciting attacking players in the squad including Ayoze Perez, Nicolas Pepe and Alberto Moleiro, Perez and Villarreal seems on paper a good match and they could be an exciting team to watch this season.

They visit Racing Santander on Sunday before an early test against Atletico Madrid on August 23, one of their rivals for a top four spot.

Back from the depths

Three historically significant clubs returned to La Liga after lengthy absences in Racing Santander, Deportivo La Coruna and Malaga.

Many will remember the latter two from their participation in the Champions League, with Depor reaching the semi-finals in 2004, losing out to Mourinho’s Porto.

Malaga reached the quarter-finals in 2013, but like Depor slumped down into Spain’s third tier.

Racing also spent much of the last 14 years down there before returning to the top flight for the first time since 2012.

All three clubs have strong fan bases and should offer vibrant home support.

Can Matarazzo magic continue?

American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo turned Real Sociedad’s fortunes around after being appointed in December to replace Sergio Francisco.

The New Jersey native was a breath of fresh air in San Sebastian and led them to Copa del Rey glory as well as driving them up the table, away from the relegation zone.

“I’ve never walked on water but it has to be like this,” said Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal, after winning the cup.

However if Matarazzo’s first months were more about improving mentality and morale, this season he will be keen to help the team progress in terms of their tactical approach and defensive solidity.