Spanish League: 2013\2014 Season Preview.

The Spanish League kicks off this night and it promises to be exciting but a bit less controversial after the departure of Jose ' The Loved One' Mourinho. This season has seen a lot of managerial changes and clubs will look to break the duopoly of Barcelona and Real Maddrid (Only Valencia have won the league since 2004). Sportunes previews the upcoming Liga BBVA season:

THE CONTENDERS

Barcelona

Many pundits believed Barce would struggle after Pep Guardiola left the club to go on a ' sabbatical'. Rather under new manger Tito Vilanova, they soared, recording an astonishing 18 wins and 1 draw in the 1st half of last season. They won the league with a hundred points, equaling the record set by Madrid the previous season. They lost only twice and Lionel Messi once again was the star man, scoring 46 league goals. This season Vilanova has stepped aside due to health reasons and new manager Gerardo Martino will look to build on last season's feats. Brazilian Neymar moved to the Camp Nou over the summer for €57 million from Santos ( a rather high fee in my opinion) and will be seen as an exciting, different kind of player. He will offer something different to Barce's one minded approach. However the Catalan club's defence is a source of concern and last season was indicative of what to come this season. A new defender must be bought and David Luiz is a name that keeps coming up as a potential arrival. Expect Barcelona's explosive attack to mask their shaky defence if they fail to sign a defender and will once again be favorites to claim the title. Prediction:2nd

Real Madrid

The whole of Madrid can breathe freely once again after the departure of Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese engineered a worst possible start to a season for Madrid and picked fights with everybody, most notably Iker Casillas, who he benched for six months. New manager Carlo Ancelotti is exactly the kind of manager Madrid needs and the Italian exudes a calm aura compared to the brash Portuguese. He will look to instill a new footballing philosophy at Madrid and is already evident, judging from pre- season games. New signings Asier Illaramendi, Isco, Casmeiro and Daniel Carvajal have been brought in to bolster the team and the club are in pursuit of Gareth Bale, who Ancelotti really wants. Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed a new deal which is great news and Madrid will look to reclaim the title from Barcelona with the Portuguese leading the team. Madrid however have failed to replace prolific striker Gonzalo Higuain, who departed for Napoli. The Argentine averaged at least 20 goals a season for Madrid and if they fail to bring in another striker, that leaves only Karim Benzema as the only notable forward in the team. It doesn't take a seer to see problems ahead. Be that as it may, expect Madrid to put up a real good fight to win the league title. Prediction: 1st

Atletico Madrid

Under Diego Simeone, Atletico have grown in strength in the past two years. After winning the Europa League in May 2012, the Madrid based club thrashed Chelsea 4 - 1 i n the Uefa Super Cup. It was a riveting performance, especially from Radamel Falcao. The 2012\2013 season was even better for Atletico, at one point sitting second ahead of fierce rivals Real Madrid. They eventually finished third but their biggest feat was their triumph over the Los Merengues in the Copa Del Rey final. It was their first victory over their more illustrious neihghbours since 1999. This season expect a more determined and more drilled Atletico side, manged by the energetic Simeone. Though Radamel Falcao has left for Monaco, Atletico have done a decent job in the transfer market by bringing in David Villa for a cut price from Barcelona,Leo Baptistao and Martin Demichelis. Also Diego Costa extended his contract for an additional two years. I expect Atletico to push the big two all the way but will falter at the critical stages. Prediction: 3rd

THE REST OF THE LEAGUE

4th Place Finish

This postion was fiercely fought for last season but eventually went to Real Sociedad, who beat competition from the likes of Sevilla, Valencia, Malaga and Betis.

This season expect Valencia to fight for this postition having lost out narrowly to Sociedad with a single point. Miroslav Dukic the new manager is a shrewd man who will bring a new mentality to the Mestalla. Though talismanic striker Roberto Soldado has departed for Spurs, Helder Postiga and Oriol Romeu( on loan) have arrived to bolster the squad.

Real Sociedad are expected to build on last season's performance in which they defied all odds and finished fourth. They can boast as the only team apart from Real Madrid to have beaten Barcelona last season. I expect the Basque club to push for another top four finish and with the likes of Carlos Vela and Xabi Prieto in the team, who can bet against them? New manger Jagbo Arrasate must find a new way to improve Phillipe Montainer's feats and fill the gap left by Asier Illaramendi.

Wild Card Pick: 

Real Betis

The Andalusian club were a joy to watch last season and manger Pepe Mel has created a team with no fear attitude. With players like Salva Sevilla and Jorge Molina, expect Betis to improve on their 7th placed finish last season and maybe clinch 4th spot.

EUROPA LEAGUE SPOTS

Last season, Valencia, Malaga, Betis , Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla all finished in Europa league places respectively. This season promises to be unpredictable and even Malaga are not assured of a place, after several high profile departures including manager Manuel Pellegrini. The top contenders include Real Betis who under Pepe Mel have played decent football, Sevilla who lost Alvaro Negredo, Jesus Navas and combative midfielder Gary Medel but can still produce something from nothing. Rayo Vallecano are a plucky team and should once again fight for a spot. Getafe and Espanyol are the other teams that may finish in this bracket. Malaga are my wild card pick to due to new manger Bernd Schuster's ability to manage struggling teams.

THE NEWBIES Villareal, Almeria and Elche are the teams to join the Spanish top flight.
Villareal: Remember them? Coached then by Manuel Pellegrini and reached the semis of the Champions League in 2006. A patch of bad form saw them relegated in 2011\2012 season but now they are back and will now hope to avoid relegation. Marcelino Garcia Toral is manger and experienced players like Bruno Soriano, Ikechukwu Uche and new signing Giovanni Dos Santos will look to keep the yellow submarines above relegation waters.

Almeria: Almeria are back and hope's are high that they will survive relegation first time back. They were terrible in the season they were relegated and coach Francisco Javier Rodriguez will look to avoid another fiasco and will look to Ruben Suarez,Raul Garcia and on loan Suso to avoid the drop.

Elche: They are back after a 24 year absence and there was a carnival like celebration when they moved up. Now on to serious business, Elche must fight to avoid immediate relegation back to the second tier and must place hopes on familiar names like Manu Del Moral,Ruben Perez, Alberto Botia and Christian Sapunaru to beat the drop. Fran Escriba is manger.

RELEGATION WAR

Real Mallorca, Real Zaragoza and Deportivo La Coruna were all relegated last season. Teams like Celta Vigo, Granada and Osasuna narrowly beat the drop. This season I expect these same teams to be embroiled in the relegation dog fight and will be joined by new boys Elche and Almeria. Elche,Granada and Almeria I guess will be relegated and teams like Levante, Celta Vigo and Villareal missing out narrowly.