Barcelona will begin the 2026/27 season as favourites to retain their La Liga crown after lifting the trophy in front of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the end of last season.
Few rivalries in world football can match El Clasico, widely regarded as the biggest fixture in the sport.
And this season promises the challenge of a fightback. Real Madrid failed to win a single trophy last term and have turned back to legendary boss José Mourinho. They have backed him with new signings, and are determined to reclaim their place at the top of Spanish football.
Whether they can overturn Barcelona’s dominance is another question entirely.
Barca are the team to beat and boast a core of young, homegrown players that should sustain them for years to come. They are odds-on favourites to retain their La Liga title this coming season, and with good reason. The Catalans finished eight points clear in top spot last season, illustrating just how dominant they were over the course of the campaign.
Barcelona coasted to a third title in four seasons and were the best team in La Liga by almost every metric. They scored the most goals per match (2.5), boasted the highest average possession share per match (68.8 per cent), and kept the most clean sheets (15). For anyone to catch them, those numbers will have to dip.
If Barca have a weakness, it’s their high line. This is not to say that the high line itself is a weakness — it is a key component of the way manager Hansi Flick operates, keeping Barcelona high up the pitch so they can counter-press opponents as aggressively as possible. However, the space in behind the high line can be exploited.
In the transfer market they have had a focus on attack so far, with €80m spent on the signing of winger Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United and Karim Adeyemi also arriving from Borussia Dortmund to give Flick even more speed to utilise in the final third.
This is Flick doubling down on his high-risk approach, although Barcelona’s squad is somewhat incomplete until a new centre forward arrives. Only Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal scored more league goals than Robert Lewandowski last season, highlighting the need to replace the Polish striker, who joined the Chicago Fire over the summer.
Torres can operate through the middle and is fresh from scoring the winner for Spain in the 2026 World Cup final. However, the 26-year-old might not be the elite level forward many Barcelona supporters envisage leading the line.
Many of Barca’s rivals boast better options in the centre forward position — including Madrid.
Kylian Mbappé is fresh from a World Cup which saw him win the Golden Boot and Madrid are 13/10 to win the Spanish title next season, possibly reflecting the quality of their forward line, which could soon be confirmed to include Yan Diomande.
Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior combined for 41 league goals last season with Jude Bellingham also finding the back of the net six times from midfield. Mourinho, however, must find a way to balance his forward line with the rest of the team, something that proved too difficult for previous coaches Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa.
Vinícius is being linked with a departure to Arsenal, and such an exit would give Mourinho more freedom to set up Real Madrid in his own image. The midfield might also look different by the time the summer transfer window closes, with Rodri a target. The 2026 World Cup winner would give Real Madrid the midfield anchor they have lacked since the retirement of Toni Kroos.
Only Leandro Paredes averaged more accurate passes per 90 minutes at the World Cup than Rodri, who was a controlling influence at the base of the Spanish midfield. However, Mourinho isn’t renowned for setting up his teams to play possession-heavy football and so Rodri might be an awkward fit for his new-look side should he join.
Real Madrid have already made a number of intriguing signings. Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konaté and Bernardo Silva have all made the move to the Spanish capital this summer.
Marc Cucurella’s move to Real Madrid from Chelsea
David Ornstein and more
While Barcelona know what they are and play with a clear and defined style, Real Madrid are hoping returning boss Mourinho can impose his own ideas on a group of players that have lacked direction recently.
This contrast has the potential to produce a compelling title race at the top of the table in La Liga. One way or another, this rivalry will have another chapter to write.
