The 2021/22 La Liga campaign gets up and running on Friday evening and it promises to be an intriguing battle at the Mestalla when Valencia take on Getafe, while there is plenty of action to get stuck into over the weekend.
Bordalas Prepares for Getafe Reunion
Jose Bordalas did a fantastic job at Getafe from 2016-2021, taking the club from the Segunda Division in his debut campaign in charge before finishing eighth, fifth, eighth and 15th in the next four La Liga seasons.
The 57-year-old left the club in May to take the reins at Valencia, who finished a disappointing 13th last term, and he will now be hoping to inflict a defeat on his former employers when they meet on Friday.
Getafe have made the decision to bring in Michel for his second stint at the helm, having been in charge from 2009-2011, and they are full of confidence heading into this contest following a positive pre-season.
The Azulones have won their last six friendly matches, keeping five clean sheets, and with Valencia being hit and miss with their preparations, there looks to be value in backing the visitors to pick up win at 11/5.
Ancelotti’s Second Coming
Another coach returning to one of his former clubs is Italian maestro Carlo Ancelotti, who left Everton this summer to head back to Real Madrid, who he managed previously from 2013-2015.
The 62-year-old won the Copa del Rey, Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup during his first stint with Los Blancos and the club will be hoping his return can inspire the team to win more trophies.
David Alaba is the only new arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, arriving on a free from Bayern Munich, and he will fill the void left by the departing Sergio Ramos, who now plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
Madrid begin their campaign with an away trip to Alaves and although the last five meetings between these two has seen a combined 16 goals, this could be a low-scoring affair.
Ancelotti will want to instil a defensively solidarity in this Madrid side and backing the visitors to win and under 2.5 goals looks to be worth looking into at odds of 59/20.
Atleti Begin Title Defence
Atletico Madrid’s title defence begins on Sunday with a trip to Celta Vigo and the visitors, who have brought in Rodrigo de Paul and Marcos Paulo, should have no issues getting the win.
Los Rojiblancos boasted the best defensive record last season, conceding a mere 25 times, while they found the back of the net 67 to sit joint-second alongside Real Madrid.
An Atleti victory at 1/1 looks very appealing, while the win to nil for Diego Simeone’s side may be worth a punt at 23/10.
Barca Begin Messi-less Life
Lionel Messi’s exit from Barcelona was a huge shock in the footballing world but the Catalans will need to get focused quickly for the season opener at home to Real Sociedad, who finished fifth in the previous campaign.
Without the Argentina international pulling the strings, other players will have to take extra responsibility and there is just a sense this could be a difficult year for the Catalan giants.
Sociedad are a well-drilled unit and the 23/20 on offer in the double chance market looks worthy of backing. Los Txuri-Urdin will also be itching for some revenge after being thumped 6-1 in the last meeting.
*All odds correct at time of writing.