La Liga 2023-24: Why Barcelona is Pick to Repeat

This season will most likely be trickier, not least because they’ll be playing away from Camp Nou for the entire campaign with the Estadi Olimpic as their temporary home. This summer marks the end of an era in Barcelona with long-serving Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba departing after Gerard Pique retired midway through last season.

Playing away from Camp Nou could hamper Barcelona while concerns about their strength in depth remain, particularly if they go deeper in Europe. Still, we expect them to have the necessary weapons to retain their crown so we will include them in our soccer picks and parlays. They are second favorites to win the title being priced at +135.

To Win La Liga Without Real Madrid & Barcelona

The resurgent Atletico Madrid will also be hoping to be hot on the heels of Barcelona and Real Madrid following their sensational form during the second half of last season. With the likes of Caglar Soyuncu, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Javi Galan being brought in to strengthen Diego Simeone’s side, it has left the latest odds in Spain very close for comfort between Spain’s big three.

Atletic’s start to the season will be hampered by injuries to Jose Maria Gimenez and Reinildo, who are unlikely to see game-time until September at the earliest. We still expect them to have enough to finish behind Real Madrid and Barcelona at -120 so if you’re betting online, Atletico is the team to back.

To Finish Top 4 in La Liga

The race for Champions League spots is also sure to be exciting. Real Sociedad finished fourth last season, and they will hope to maintain their place in La Liga’s top four. However, with Villarreal, Real Betis, Athletic Bilbao, and Sevilla also in the race, it is anyone’s guess as to who will earn the tickets for the 2024-25 installment of Europe’s most important competition.

Real Sociedad is back in the Champions League for the first time in a decade after an impressive fourth-place finish last term. While David Silva will be missed, Real Sociedad looks strong all over the pitch, and after a full preseason, we should see more from the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal and Sadiq following their injury problems last term.

Sevilla had a very disappointing season in La Liga last season. They finished 12th in the final standings, but they had a successful year in European football. They won their seventh Europa League title last term, which makes them the winners of five of the last 10 editions of the tournament. They have a good and balanced squad, but they need to step up and improve from last season’s position.

With Monchi departing the club to join Aston Villa, we’ve not seen a huge amount of transfer activity so far at the Ramon Sanchez–Pizjuan. New Sporting Director Víctor Orta is now overseeing their summer business. Their main signing is Loic Bade, who was so impressive in defense last term following a January loan from Rennes. They are priced at +225 to finish in the top 4 according to the latest La Liga odds, but we don’t trust them enough so we won’t back them.

Villarreal lost many of its key players this summer, with more than $110 million generated. Key men Pau Torres and Samu Chukwueze departed while the biggest fee received was for Chelsea-bound Nicolas Jackson, who enjoyed a fine goal-scoring run toward the end of last season.

A number of players have also arrived with Alexander Sorloth, Ben Brereton Diaz, and Ilias Akhomach new attacking options. We don’t expect them to finish in the top 4.