The Euro Preview: La Liga gets underway, Ronaldo to make Serie A debut

La Liga and Serie A return this weekend, with both leagues expected to be dominated by the same teams yet again.

La Liga

While Spain’s top flight will miss the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the Real-Barca battle for the title should resume as normal once the season gets started this weekend.

Barcelona, the defending league champions, host Alaves on Saturday at the Camp Nou. Messi, in his first competitive match getting knocked out of the World Cup with Argentina, is expected to have another great season. Barca, who lost just once in league play last year, are looking to win a second consecutive title (a fourth in five years). 

Real Madrid, winners of the last three Champions League titles, need to avoid a poor start like last season when they host Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu. The team, coached by Julen Lopetegui after the sudden departure of Zinedine Zidane, will need to rely on Welsh striker Gareth Bale for both leadership and goals now that Ronaldo has gone off to join Juventus.

Atletico Madrid, coached by Diego Simeone, hope to have another solid season (and even contend for the league title) when they open their campaign Monday against plucky Valencia. Atleti, the only club who have consistently challenged the dominance of Barca and Real in recent years, will have a lot to prove in the opening matchday’s most interesting game.  

Serie A

Juventus open their title defense Saturday when they travel to Verona to take on Chievo. The club grabbed a lot of the attention this summer by signing Ronaldo. The signing added renewed prestige to Serie A, which led to a new TV deal with ESPN to broadcast games as well as stream them online in the United States. The 33-year-old Ronaldo’s signing has certainly given Juve, and the entire league, a boost heading into this season. It was a much-needed shot in the arm for a country that had a non-World Cup summer for the first time since 1958. 

While Juve look to win another league title as well as the Champions League (Ronaldo’s offensive tandem partnership with Paulo Dybala should result in lots of goals), a trio of contenders are on their heels when it comes to trying to break the Bianconeri’s domestic dominance. Napoli, runners-up last season, along with Inter Milan and Roma are expected to vie for the scudetto. 

Carlo Ancelotti will debut as Napoli manager in a league game on Saturday (after departing manager Maurizio Sarri took the helm at Chelsea) against a tough Lazio side in Rome. In other notable matches, Roma take on Torino on Sunday in Turin, while Inter Milan are also on the road that day against Sassuolo.

Italy’s top flight will begin two weeks earlier than usual in order to accommodate a change in the league schedule that will see teams play league matches over the end-of-year holidays. The league will observe a two-week winter break in mid-January. 

Ligue 1

The French league, after last weekend’s opening slate of matches, returns as first-place Paris Saint-Germain play on the road Saturday against Guingcamp.

Marseilles will travel to play Nimes on Sunday. Monaco, meanwhile, will host Lille on Saturday. After grabbing all three points last week, the team will need another win in order to keep pace with title favorites PSG. 

PSG remain the odds-on favorites to win the league again and feature a star-studded roster, including veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, French World Cup-winning star Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and budding American talent Tim Weah.