The underdogs are ready for a title challenge once again. Atlético Madrid and Borussia Dortmund begin their quests to show the world that they can win without the overpowering force of financial superiority. The Bundesliga and La Liga start this weekend and Klopp and Simeone's teams are the best hopes for a thrill this season.
LA LIGA WINNER - It is odd to be writing season preview for La Liga without immediately mentioning Real Madrid and Barcelona, but don't forget that the Colchoneros are the reigning champions and not by chance. It was an extraordinary achievement, but history is unlikely to repeat itself. El Cholo will need time for his team to gel after so many changes over the summer, so the title is likely to be between Barça and Real Madrid. The latter are slightly favoured by the bookies (1.83 to 2.10) for first time in 6 years. The European champions look more complete, and simply look stronger than Barcelona, so backing them to win La Liga is logical.
LA LIGA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION - There is little chance of any other side breaking into top three this season, and the fight for the fourth will be an interesting one between Valencia, Athletic, Sevilla and Villarreal (in order of odds). It remains to be seen how the remainder of the transfer window will change things, but the best odds are on Sevilla (4.00), whose thirst for silverware was quenched with the Europa League title last season, so they might focus on the league more than before.
LA LIGA RELEGATION - Very few teams can match the pride of Deportivo La Coruna's fans, but pride alone is not enough. Eibar (1.40) and Cordoba (1.57) have the lowest odds to be relegated, but the three following them in the table - Deportivo at 2.50, Almeria at 2.75 and Elche at 4.50 - are the bets that make the most sense. The latter, for whom the odds are very high, only escaped relegation in the final stages of last season, and only by 1 point, so they offer the best value here.
PICK OF THE WEEKEND: Almeria vs Espanyol: AWAY WIN @ 2.55 - Almeria ended last season with the third worst home record, and have just spent half a million Euros this summer and lost Aleix Vidal to Sevilla. It will be a tough season for them once again. Espanyol have a lot of confidence in their youth team, having promoted Sergio to manager, and fans will be excited by the newly signed Felipe Caicedo, a man who could influence their season, starting with the very first game.
BUNDESLIGA WINNER - The current Germany team is effectively a mirror image of Bayern’s Bundesliga conquering side, but this may have an adverse effect on the titleholders. Pep Guardiola will be without midfield lynchpin Javi Martinez for a substantial chunk of the season, while Franck Ribéry’s future is in doubt. Furthermore, Bayern may be more focused on the Champions League, which could see them sacrifice their domestic duties. The opportunity is there for Borussia Dortmund to secure the Bundesliga and their odds (6.50) compared to Bayern's (1.16) means it may be worth backing Dortmund this season.
BUNDESLIGA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION - Schalke are likely to secure 3rd place and are deservedly joint-third favourites to do so. Therefore, the main battle comes in the race for 4th. Hamburg were lucky not to be relegated last season, so best to avoid backing them despite their tempting odds (17.00). This is likely to be a direct conflict between Bayer Leverkusen (1.72) and Wolfsburg (2.10), with Bayer holding the small advantage.
BUNDESLIGA RELEGATION - Newly promoted Paderborn are, unsurprisingly, favourites to be automatically relegated from the Bundesliga (1.44). The other promoted side FC Köln may have enough about them to stave off relegation - they are third favourites to go down (6.00) behind a weakened Freiburg side (3.25). The third-lowest placed side in the Bundesliga is forced into a playoff against the third-highest from Bundesliga II to see who plies their trade in Germany’s top tier the following season, so make sure you check out the particularly high odds on a gutted Augsburg side (8.00).
PICK OF THE WEEKEND: Hertha Berlin vs Werder Bremen: AWAY WIN @ 3.75 - There isn't much of a difference in the odds for the winner of this one. Hertha Berlin had one of the worst home records in the Bundesliga last season, while anything is possible with Werder Bremen.
What are your top tips for the weekend? Let us know in the comments below
