Nine matches into the new season, and the top of La Liga has a familiar look with the clubs from the capital and Catalonia’s finest making up the top three.
There’s also the reemergence of the “Yellow Submarine” with Villarreal, 2021 Europa League winners and Champions League semi-finalists the following year, completing the top four.
A few surprises follow immediately behind, including Osasuna in fifth, while the woes of Valencia – champions 20 years ago – continue, and they currently sit in the bottom three.
A quick look at the SBOTOP La Liga 2024 betting odds suggest they won’t stay there though and, overall, it’s still relatively early days.
However, what the odds also tell us is that the top three will likely remain the same (in one form or another) and Real Madrid – champions of Spain and Europe – are still the title favourites, despite trailing Barca by three points.
They certainly have suffered some bad news this week.
Indeed, player and club were both left devastated by the news that full-back Dani Carvajal will be out for the entire campaign after it was confirmed he suffered a serious knee injury in last weekend’s victory over Villarreal.
It speaks volumes for his worth that the club has since moved to offer him an extension to his contract.
There is some better news ahead of the return to club football next week when Real head to ninth-placed Celta Vigo.
Andriy Lunin and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could be back, while Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Eder Militao should also return, which will be welcome given manager Carlo Ancelotti is without Carvajal, David Alaba, and Dani Ceballos.
With the first Clasico of the season looming on the horizon, it takes place at the Bernabeu on October 26, timing is imperative.
Despite all the La Liga 2024 highlights they have created during the first two months of the season, I remain unconvinced by Barcelona’s ability to last the course.
That is not a reflection on the playing talent incidentally, more the backdrop of their financial plight being played out very publicly, including ongoing attempts by Sergio Aguero to be recoup unpaid wages.
There are also agents for Ousmane Dembele, who are claiming the club owe them €10 million for French winger’s move to PSG last year.
In addition, the Catalonians have lost a dispute with Zenit St. Petersburg over the transfer of Malcom, which will force them to forego nearly half a million Euros.
As it stands on the pitch, it’s hard to fault new boss Hansi Flick with eight wins from their first nine league matches.Yet I cannot help shake off the feeling that it will only take a few things to go wrong and the house of cards may come tumbling down.
German midfielder Ilkay Gündogan returned to Manchester City last month, convinced his exit was about finance not football and saying he hoped his departure could “help”.
Five of the six players who arrived at the Nou Camp last summer have now gone and, although two were on loan, club chiefs had hoped João Félix and João Cancelo might continue. Neither did.
The one who is there, Iñigo Martínez, was registered thanks to a rule allowing clubs to “use” 80% of an injured player’s salary, in this case Ronald Araújo, on someone else until December.
Deals were done on a dozen, mostly minor departures, but it wasn’t enough and so the same rule was used to finally get their one major signing registered.
Dani Olmo replaced Andreas Christensen on the books until December after the club convinced the league that the Dane’s injury was actually long term after all. Collectively, this is no way to run a club, is it?
There was some positive news this week with the club now likely to receive around £6 million from FIFA in compensation for the injury to young talent Gavi.
The compensation will be because he was injured on international duty, almost a year ago now, when he unfortunately ruptured his ACL.
Silver linings to a cloud and all that and one they will grab because they don’t appear to have many.
Barcelona remain top, but can they stay there or are the foundations built on sand? They have the league leadership, but Real seem to have the foundations. Who is your money on?
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