5 players to watch in La Liga this season

These five players ones to watch during the 2018-19 La Liga season, including Philippe Coutinho and Thomas Lemar.

The new Liga season gets underway this Friday night, with Girona and Real Valladolid facing off, followed by Real Betis and Levante.

Last season’s champions Barcelona get started at home to Deportivo Alaves on Saturday night, Real Madrid play Getafe on Sunday night, and Valencia host Atletico Madrid on Monday evening.

These are five players to keep a look out for as the new season begins.

Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona)

Big-money January signing Philippe Coutinho is already settled in having signed from Liverpool with a few months of last season remaining, and will be able to hit the ground running as Barcelona look to retain their title.

He outshone Neymar as the best Brazilian at the World Cup in Russia and looks set to be a crucial part of Barcelona’s team this coming campaign, injury permitting.

Expect typically spectacular long-range strikes, incisive through balls in the direction of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and neat footwork that takes the breath away.

As good as Coutinho was in the Premier League, this could be the season that he establishes himself as the world-class attacking talent that has always bubbled away under the surface on a far more consistent basis.

If not, he’ll be worth watching anyway for his sensational skill set.

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)

With Cristiano Ronaldo departed, Real Madrid are in need of a new superstar talisman, and Gareth Bale could be the man to benefit most from the Portuguese forward’s Juventus move.

Ever since he transferred to the Bernabeu from Tottenham for a then world-record fee, Bale has been outshone by Ronaldo, but this season he could get the chance to prove that he is capable of reaching similar levels.

Bale is not likely to score as many as Ronaldo did consistently in Spain, but he will relish the opportunity to make himself the main man at one of the biggest clubs in the world as they look to enter a new era.

He is a big game player, shown in the Champions League final with his stunning overhead kick past Loris Karius, and if Real Madrid are to win the title race and win another European title, Bale will have to stay injury free and hit top form.

Thomas Lemar (Atletico Madrid)

Thomas Lemar is one of the many players that impressed two seasons ago when Monaco made a huge splash in the Champions League.

His form that season was enough for Liverpool to show serious interest, offering £78 million, and Arsenal to table a bid of £90 million, but in the previous season he struggled to maintain the same standards, with the French club opting to keep him having sold so many of their other stars last summer.

Atletico captured him this close-season for a fee of €65 million. For that price, the pressure is on to reach his peak performance level pretty quickly, but get back to his peak Monaco form and the attacking, creative midfielder will be a steal.

Having earned a big-money move after a less than impressive season, it will be intriguing to watch how Lemar gets on, and whether he can put the disappointing showing he had in his final season with Monaco behind him quickly, and adapt to a new league.

Santi Mina (Valencia)

The 22-year-old forward, Santi Mina, could be ready for a real breakout season with the exciting Valencia team who finished fourth in last season’s Liga standings.

Mina moved to Valencia from Celta Vigo in 2015, so has had plenty of time to settle in, and is now ready for a real stand-out campaign.

He scored 15 in all competitions last season, and now generally plays through the center rather than out wide as he has in the past. It would be no shock for him to build on that this time around.

This could be the season that he really cements himself as a player in the top echelon of Spain’s top tier, and if Marcelino’s side are to remain in the top-four for a second successive season, Mina will likely be a large part of that.

Takashi Inui (Real Betis)

Japanese breakout World Cup star Takashi Inui signed for Real Betis as a free agent, having left fellow Spanish outfit Eibar at the end of his contract.

At 30, he is not a young star, but will have plenty to offer for a usually entertaining Real Betis side who score a lot of goals.

One of those to make a name for himself during the World Cup, the next step will be to make himself a household La Liga name, and he certainly has the attributes needed to make that a reality.

Sometimes World Cup stars fail to translate their international form back into the club game, but Inui will hope not to fall into that trap.