2026/27 La Liga predictions: The champion, the teams relegated & the best goalscorer

By Klimentijs Konevs | Published: 12 August, 2026, 09:35

The 2026/27 La Liga season gets underway on August 15, and there is plenty to look forward to. Barcelona begin the campaign as defending champions after another successful domestic season, but all eyes are on Real Madrid. The biggest story of the summer is the return of The Special One, Jose Mourinho. He will have to revive a team that struggled to meet expectations last year.

Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid will once again hope to challenge the top two, as they managed to knock Barcelona out of the Champions League last season. In this preview, we look at the title favourites, relegation candidates, top goalscorer contenders, the biggest transfers, and our predictions for the 2026/27 La Liga season.

Barcelona

Barcelona are looking to make it three La Liga titles in a row. They were clearly the best team in Spain last season and looked on course to reach the 100-point mark. Once the title was wrapped up, though, the intensity visibly dropped. Even so, finishing eight points ahead of Real Madrid says everything about their performance.

The squad has changed a little this summer. Marcus Rashford has returned to Manchester United after his loan spell. Can't say he made a major impact, but credit goes to him for trying his best to earn a place in the squad.

Barcelona also strengthened their attack by signing Anthony Gordon from Newcastle. He had an outstanding last season, scoring 10 Champions League goals. The Englishman has also made three assists and scored an important goal in the semi-final of the World Cup. Barcelona's latest signing is Karim Adeyemi, who joined from Borussia Dortmund.

Here's Anthony Gordon at his FC Barcelona presentation. pic.twitter.com/cv9noDmEQg

— Grok (@grok) July 29, 2026

Real Madrid

Real Madrid have been through a lot over the past season. First, Xabi Alonso got sacked, then Alvaro Arbeloa took over, but he didn't make much of a difference. Real continued to drop valuable points against lower-table teams week after week. Maybe it didn't look like a disaster from the outside, but Real Madrid have very different standards. On top of that, their Champions League campaign ended in the quarter-finals after a 6-4 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich. In the end, Los Blancos finished the season without a single trophy.

As soon as Florentino Perez was re-elected as club president, he made a huge statement by bringing Jose Mourinho back to Madrid. The club also started spending money, as they usually do. Several club veterans left after their contracts expired, including David Alaba and Dani Carvajal. In their place came Bernardo Silva from Manchester City, newly crowned world champion Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, Ibrahima Konate, and Denzel Dumfries. The signings have been made. Now it's up to The Special One to turn this squad back into winners.

Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone's last season was another rollercoaster. Atletico never really looked like serious La Liga title contenders, so their focus gradually shifted to the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. That decision almost paid off. They knocked Barcelona out of both competitions and came within touching distance of eliminating Arsenal in the UCL semi-finals. Now, as Simeone begins his 15th full season in charge, improving Atletico's league form will be one of his biggest priorities.

The club have backed their manager in the transfer market. Alejandro Grimaldo arrived from Bayer Leverkusen and Morten Hjulmand joined from Sporting. Lee Kang-in has also completed a move from the Champions League winners, Paris Saint-Germain, although he watched the final against Arsenal from the bench.

Atletico have also been at the centre of one of the summer's biggest transfer stories. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid tried to sign Julian Alvarez, but the club made its position crystal clear. Atletico publicly insisted he was not for sale and even turned down a reported €150 million offer from Florentino Perez. The story is still ongoing.

🚨 💣TRANSFER BOMBAZO!!: Barcelona is preparing to make things difficult for Atlético Madrid following their refusal to let Julián Álvarez join Barça! leaks reveal Atlético Madrid are set to bid for Ferran Torres & Deco has set a monumental £140M barrier for in direct… pic.twitter.com/g6AfkrgsRN

— Barça Zone (@BarcaZoneHub) July 30, 2026

Real Betis

Real Betis didn't have the most consistent season, but they still secured the final Champions League spot, finishing fifth in the league with 60 points. Their Europa League run last season ended in the quarter-finals after a defeat to Braga, but overall it was another step forward for Manuel Pellegrini's side.

One of the biggest success stories has been Antony. Since joining from Manchester United in 2025, the Brazilian has looked like a completely different player. He settled quickly in Spain, became one of Betis' main attacking threats, and looked far more confident than he ever did in England. This summer, the club focused on strengthening the defence and midfield by signing Fran Garcia from Real Madrid and Fluminense midfielder Facundo Bernal, which gives Betis more depth.

Villarreal

Villarreal were one of the biggest surprises of last season after finishing third in La Liga. Not many expected them to end the campaign that high, especially after a disappointing Champions League run. They failed to get through the league phase, losing every match. However, that early exit gave them a much lighter schedule than most of their rivals.

The Yellow Submarine took full advantage of it by regularly picking up points against teams from the lower half of the table. They produced only a few memorable performances, including a 5-1 win over Atletico Madrid. Villarreal built their success on a well-organised defence, and it will be interesting to see if they can keep that level this season.

The club have stayed quiet in the transfer market, making no major signings. Instead, several young players have returned from loan, while others have been loaned out again or sold.

Athletic Club

Athletic Club will be hoping for a much better season after a difficult 2025/26 campaign. They finished only 12th in La Liga, winning just 13 of their 38 matches, which was well below expectations. Their best run came in the Copa del Rey, where they reached the semi-finals before losing 2-0 on aggregate to Real Sociedad.

There are still reasons to be optimistic. Athletic have enjoyed a strong pre-season, staying unbeaten in their friendly matches and even putting 11 goals past Leioa in one of them. The club have been quiet in the transfer market, choosing not to make any new signings.

Instead, several young players have been sent out on loan to gain experience, while midfielder Unai Gomez completed a permanent move to Udinese. Athletic will now hope that stability and a strong team spirit can help them climb back up the table.

As usual, the newly promoted teams are expected to go straight back down, especially when they cannot spend as much as the established teams. At the moment, Malaga and Racing Santander are the bookmakers' main favourites to be relegated. Neither of them has gone on a spending spree during the transfer window.

Deportivo La Coruna have taken a much more ambitious approach. They brought in six new players, including experienced striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Marseille, and young Bayern Munich defender Jonathan Jensen Asp. The club clearly wants to give itself the best possible chance of avoiding an immediate return to the Segunda Division.

Levante and Elche will also have to look over their shoulders. Levante haven't done enough in the market to convince many people they can stay up. Elche's squad still lacks proven top-flight depth. They have also lost all three of their top goalscorers from last season: Andre Silva, Rafa Mir, and Alvaro Rodriguez. The club has brought in Nino Fer from Burgos to help rebuild the attack, but it remains to be seen how their completely reshaped front line will perform.

Sevilla are another club worth watching. Not long ago they were regulars in European competitions, but years of financial problems and disappointing league finishes have completely changed expectations around the club. Maybe if Sergio Ramos had succeeded in buying the club, the summer break would look much more optimistic, but we're left only guessing.

Kylian Mbappe is, without a doubt, the main contender to become La Liga's top goalscorer this season. He finished last season with 25 league goals and then went on to win the World Cup Golden Boot after scoring 10 goals in just eight matches. He also broke the all-time World Cup goalscoring record, taking his tally to 22 career goals and moving ahead of Lionel Messi. With Mourinho now in charge, Mbappe will once again be the team's main attacking force.

Lamine Yamal is also in the conversation. He scored 16 league goals last season and continues to gain experience with every campaign. His World Cup wasn't the most productive, but that shouldn't make anyone underestimate him. Raphinha is another player to mention. He had quite a few injury problems last season and still managed to score 13 league goals. If he can stay fully fit this time around, he can be an absolute machine in attack and one of the favourites for the trophy.

Who’ll be the Spanish champions?

Even though Real Madrid made some huge moves this summer, I have a feeling they won’t fix all of their problems overnight. Mourinho is back, the squad looks stronger, but building a winning team takes time.

Instead, I expect Barcelona to retain the La Liga title. They have strengthened their attack even further, and Hansi Flick already knows this squad inside out. He understands what gets the best out of his players and what this team needs to keep winning.

Who’ll be relegated from La Liga?

I’m going with Elche. They had a pretty rough summer, and I don’t think they did enough to be ready for another La Liga season. The whole attacking group has changed after several key departures, and rebuilding the front line is always difficult.

Last season they finished just one point above the relegation zone, so the warning signs were already there. I can easily see Elche being one of the three teams relegated at the end of the season.

Who’ll be the best La Liga goalscorer in 2026/27?

Kylian Mbappe! He’s just that good when it comes to scoring goals. He has the pace, the finishing ability, the IQ to spot runs and passes, and, of course, he remains Real Madrid’s first-choice penalty taker. Unless Mourinho has other plans for him, Mbappe is the man to beat in this race. After winning the Pichichi Trophy last season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him finish at the top of the scoring charts once again.

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