LaLiga 2025 Season Preview

Last Updated on agosto 11, 2025 10:20 am by Erwin Noguera

This August 15 marks the start of a new LaLiga season, the 95th edition of Spain’s top-tier league, which will conclude on May 24 and feature 20 teams competing for the championship, European qualification, and to avoid relegation.

The defending champion is Barcelona, while the newcomers are Levante, Elche, and Real Oviedo, who return to the First Division after nearly 25 years, having last played in it in 2001. They will replace Leganés, Las Palmas, and Real Valladolid.

LaLiga 2025 Format

It will be a 38-match tournament in a round-robin format, where the 20 teams will face each other twice, once at home and once away.

The team finishing first will be crowned champion. The top four will qualify for the Champions League, fifth place will go to the Europa League, and sixth place to the Conference League. If the Copa del Rey champion qualifies for the Champions League, the sixth-place team in LaLiga will move to the Europa League, and the Conference League spot will go to the seventh-place finisher.

Additionally, Spain could earn an extra Champions League berth, as happened last season, if the RFEF finishes among the top two federations in UEFA’s coefficient ranking based on the performance of its clubs in European competitions during the season.

As for relegation, the bottom three teams in the standings will drop to the Second Division. In the event of a tie on points, the first tiebreaker will be head-to-head results between the teams involved. If still level, goal difference will be considered, followed by goals scored.

2025 LaLiga Top Contenders

Among the top title contenders, Barcelona must be mentioned first. The reigning Spanish champions enter the season with the same ambition after keeping their core squad almost intact and strengthening in a key area. Additionally, Hansi Flick has managed to get the team playing attractive, attacking football.

Catalan goalkeeper Joan García, who had an outstanding season with Espanyol, arrives to take over between the posts after neither Iñaki Peña nor Wojciech Szczęsny proved up to the task. Marc-André ter Stegen has undergone another surgery and will be sidelined for several months. In attack, Marcus Rashford joins an already lethal front three, adding even more firepower. Likewise, young Marc Bernal, who had a fantastic start to last season before suffering a serious injury in the third matchday, has recovered and is essentially like a new signing.

Among the departures, players who were not in the plans left, such as Ansu Fati, Pablo Torre, and Pau Víctor. However, one key loss is Iñigo Martínez, who moved to Al-Nassr. The 34-year-old defender leaves a big and surprising gap at the back, and Barcelona will either have to reinforce or hope Ronald Araújo returns to his pre-injury form.

Second on the list is Real Madrid. Now under Xabi Alonso, the ‘Merengues’ aim to improve on last year, when much more was expected of them with Kylian Mbappé leading the attack. The Frenchman had a year of “adaptation” in which he still managed to top the scoring charts with 31 goals, and now he hopes to guide Madrid to the title.

Last season’s biggest issue for Real Madrid was their defense, which was plagued by injuries, and that has been the only area they have reinforced. They brought in three players expected to start immediately: center-back Dean Huijsen, signed from Bournemouth for nearly $70 million; right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, acquired from Liverpool for just over $11 million so he could play in the Club World Cup; and left-back Álvaro Carreras, brought in from Benfica for almost $60 million, having come through Madrid’s youth ranks.

Another player worth noting is Gonzalo García. The 21-year-old forward, who was part of Real Madrid Castilla, had a stellar Club World Cup, scoring four goals and providing one assist, and will now be part of the first team. García was also the top scorer in the Primera Federación last season with 25 goals.

Departures include Luka Modrić after 13 years at the club, Lucas Vázquez, and Jesús Vallejo. However, the most painful blow is Jude Bellingham’s shoulder surgery, which will sideline him for around four months. There is also uncertainty surrounding Rodrygo, who is seeing fewer minutes and may not be in Xabi Alonso’s plans.

2025 LaLiga Outside picks

A step below the two giants is Atlético Madrid, the only team in recent years that has managed to seriously challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid, even winning the league a couple of times. This year, however, they have lost several key players, including Rodrigo de Paul, Samuel Lino, Ángel Correa, Rodrigo Riquelme, Thomas Lemar, Reinildo Mandava, Axel Witsel, and Saúl Ñíguez.

They have reinforced with several signings, the most notable being Thiago Almada and Alejandro Baena, along with Dávid Hancko, Johnny Cardoso, Matteo Ruggeri, and young defender Marc Pubill. The arrivals of Almada and Baena, combined with Julián Álvarez, Alexander Sørloth, Giuliano Simeone, and Antoine Griezmann, give Atlético a powerful and lethal attack. At the back, they still have the reliability of Jan Oblak, but there are high expectations for Pubill and Hancko to help strengthen the defense.

Honestly, we don’t see another team capable of pulling off a major upset, but Villarreal could be worth mentioning. They finished fifth last season with 70 points, the same as fourth-placed Athletic Club, and will be playing in the Champions League, something that could be a distraction.

The ‘Submarino Amarillo’ lost two key players in Alejandro Baena and Thierno Barry but brought in defenders Santiago Mouriño and Rafa Marín, as well as midfielders Thomas Partey and Alberto Moleiro. They also promoted 21-year-old Cameroonian striker Etta Eyong, who scored 18 goals in the Primera Federación with Villarreal B.

Marcelino heads into his third season with the club, and in this second stint, he has recorded 36 wins, 19 draws, and 17 losses. The Spanish coach is still looking for a couple more reinforcements, with potential targets including American right-back Alexander Freeman (Orlando City), French defender Axel Disasi (Chelsea), Spanish midfielder Carlos Soler (owned by PSG but who spent last season at West Ham), and Portuguese forward Fábio Silva (Wolverhampton, but on loan last season at Las Palmas).

LaLiga Podium

2025 LaLiga Winner Odds