You can watch all the action from La Liga via beIN CONNECT

Naz Majeed

La Liga becomes the second major European league to return on Thursday evening. Ahead of the big kick-off, we have decided to assess the fortunes of every team. 

Can Barcelona lift themselves after a strange season so far?

Quique Setien’s appointment for the current leaders - and defending Champions - was both a shock and long-heralded, at least in terms of someone - anyone - replacing Ernesto Valverde. The debate surrounding the justification for dismissing Valverde has long passed, but speculation around the future of Lionel Messi continues. In their inspirational talisman, Barcelona possesses the unstoppable force in world football, even if his physical attributes are waning.

Messi can win a game (or a competition) almost single-handedly when he turns it on, but nobody is quite sure what will be next for him, and questions remain about the other parts of the Barcelona machine, though Barcelona’s game against Mallorca on the 13th of May is almost exactly 4 months since Luiz Suarez suffered his knee injury, which just so happens to be the period that Barcelona announced the Uruguayan would be out for. Reports suggest he has been training well, and his return (and a rest for him and the rest of the Blaugrana) may allow Barcelona to march towards their 5th title in 6 years.

The Hazards of Being a Galactico

1 goal, 1 assist in 10 league games. 14 chances created 33% big chance conversion. 

That was not what Real Madrid was expecting when they finally landed their new No. 7 (that was not Mariano Diaz), their star man that was to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo. Real had watched as Hazard inspired Chelsea to a Europa League Final win over Arsenal in Baku, with two goals and an assist (already more than he has managed this season), before swooping in to land their long-term target.

The Spanish club had been after Hazard for years by then, and he was perhaps one of only two players in the world not based in Paris that fit their criteria of a Galactico signing, but the Belgian has been disappointing, recording fewer goals than even Casemiro and Raphael Varane. Even Mariano himself has a better minutes/goals ratio than Hazard this term.

Having recovered from another injury at the start of the season, Hazard found himself fracturing his ankle at the end of February, and was forced to miss his side’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League. The suspension of football has allowed Hazard and Real to recover, however, and being only two points behind Barcelona, a La Liga title is still very much on the cards.

Real host Eibar on Sunday, with their remaining home games to be played at the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano, as the Santiago Bernabéu is undergoing renovation works. Without fans in attendance, this will likely not be a huge issue for Real Madrid, with evidence in the Bundesliga suggesting that home advantage is often negated for these sterilized games.

A Grand Return With El Gran Derbi 

When Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that professional sports could resume and that Spain were at “the end of the tunnel”, few predicted that the first thing we would see at the end of that tunnel was the Seville Derby. The last 6 meetings between Sevilla and Real Betis have seen an average of four goals per game, and with Sevilla looking to distance themselves from the chasing pack as they sit in 3rd place, we can expect more attacking intent.

Betis themselves are mired in mid-table with little to play for (they have finished above Sevilla only 3 times in the last 15 years), though they would like nothing better than to wreck the European ambitions of their rivals.

Sociedad’s Ode to Odegaard

Fourth-placed Real Sociedad has defied expectations this season, outperforming Atletico Madrid and Valencia, and the Basque club were the last side to pick up any points before La Liga was suspended in March. Their 2-1 win over Eibar took them into the final Champions League spot, though they are currently level on 46 points with Getafe.

Five teams are separated by 5 points in the race for the top four (all behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, of course), and much of Sociedad’s brilliance has been down to the flair and finesse of the Norwegian playmaker Martin Odegaard. 

Signed by Real Madrid in 2015 after being courted by a host of other elite European clubs, he spent two seasons on loan in the Eredivisie with Heerenveen and then Vitesse, named in the Team of the Year in 2019, before being sent on loan to Sociedad at the start of this season. He has created 54 chances in La Liga this season (one fewer than Lionel Messi), joint third overall in the league. He has been compared to David Silva, and Sociedad will do well to make use of his talents while they can, with a visit from 11th-placed Osasuna next up.

A Bruising Affair for Getafe and Granada

Sociedad’s most immediate threats are Getafe, who welcome Granada on Friday, 12 June. Getafe shocked everyone last season with a top-four challenge, falling away only near the end of the season to finish two points off the Champions League places. They have repeated the act this season, actually finding themselves in third place for three weeks after a rocky start to 2019/20.

Picking up a win against Granada will be essential for their quest to break into Europe’s premier competition, and with future fixtures against Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid, their journey will be difficult, but they have their destiny in their own hands.

Direct and aggressive, Getafe has been involved in all four of the games this season that have seen the most fouls, but they are also an attacking side and may look to continue that against mid-table Granada, who they beat 3-1 earlier in the season in a match that saw 10 different players booked.

You can watch all the action from La Liga via beIN CONNECT