The Spanish domestic soccer season is back upon us again, and we are in store for an explosive new La Liga title race between the three top teams in the country.
Reigning and defending champions Real Madrid will be looking to retain their crown after dominating the division last season, but will face big competition from fierce rivals FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid after busy off-seasons for all three sides.
We’ll take a look at the three title contenders and provide you wth our best free soccer betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while you take in the action on the pitch.
Learn more about how to bet on La Liga soccer here.
Below you’ll find a list of the favorites to win the Spanish La Liga title in the 2024/25 season.
After missing out on the title in 2022/23, Real Madrid made sure they wouldn’t suffer the same fate again as they turned in a dominant campaign in 2023/24 to win the championship by ten points.
Throughout the previous campaign the team only lost once all season, and manager Carlo Ancelotti has since made the team even stronger with the additions of arguably the world’s best player in Kylian Mbappe.
The France captain has joined on a free transfer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired, and he has already opened his goalscoring account for Los Blancos after scoring in their UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta last week.
In addition to Mbappe, Real Madrid have brought in young Brazilian phenom Endrick to further bolster their attack after Joselu left for Saudi Arabia, following captain Nacho Fernandez out of the exit door. Kepa Arrizabalaga has returned to Chelsea after his loan spell, while legendary midfielder Toni Kroos has retired.
But with so much talent in their squad and such a successful season last time out, it’s hard to see how Ancelotti doesn’t add another league title to the trophy cabinet. If he is able to find a system that balances the best players’ attributes to get them to play together, and keeps all the superstar egos in the dressing room happy, the this is their championship to lose.
It may even be worth looking at parlaying their title win with a Golden Boot for Mbappe, considering he will be the main goal outlet and has won the Ligue 1 Golden Boot in each of the last six seasons.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
After winning the championship under legendary former midfielder Xavi in 2022/23, Barcelona were hopeful of another run of dominance with one of their own at the helm. However that didn’t go to plan, and the Catalan giants could only muster a runners-up finish.
A fallout between Xavi and club president Joan Laporta saw the manager sacked in the summer, just weeks after signing a new contract, and he has been replaced by German coach Hansi Flick – who famously won the treble with Bayern Munich in his last club role.
Los Cules have moved to strengthen the squad this summer by signing Spain international Dani Olmo, but the loans of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix from Manchester City and Atletico Madrid respectively have now expired while all of Sergi Roberto, Marcos Alonso and Oriol Romeu have been allowed to leave.
The well-documented financial problems of the club have prevented them from making big changes in the transfer market, and that has most certainly affected their chances of regaining the title.
Youngsters Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Gavi remain key parts of the team but with Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan another year older and star defender Ronald Araujo out injured for a large chunk of the campaign, the gap looks too big to close at this stage.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
Diego Simeone is entering his 14th season as manager of Atletico Madrid and will be eyeing his third La Liga title once again with a new-look squad.
A transition campaign for Atleti saw them finish fourth in the 2023/24 campaign, behind minnows Girona, in a disappointing season. But the club have moved to close the gap once again with some important transfers during the off-season.
Villarreal striker Alexander Sorloth has joined the club alongside Manchester City star and World Cup winning forward Julian Alvarez, who signed in a stunning $104.8million deal. Spanish defender Robin Le Normand has joined to strengthen the back line too, proving that the board are willing to back the manager to take them back to the top of the pile.
Several first-team stars have left as part of the rebuild including Memphis Depay, Alvaro Morata, Saul Niguez and Mario Hermoso, but the imminent arrival of Conor Gallagher from Chelsea will also help their case.
They’re underdogs no doubt, especially behind their local rivals, but at +1000 odds they’re definitely worth a cheeky flutter just in case it all goes wrong across the city.
About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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