La Liga Roundtable: Preparing For The Start Of The Season

On Bleacher Report there is an abundance of writers who specialize in English football and this makes for a fantastic dynamic full or arguments and differing opinions.

While there are not nearly as many writers in the La Liga community, I have pulled together two of the best in the first La Liga Roundtable.

Many thanks to Gonzalo San Martin and Iñaki Angulo for their participation.

So here we go:

Will Barcelona be able to bounce back from a disappointing season and challenge for the top spot in La Liga this season?

Iñaki: Do not doubt it. They have the weapons and it seems that they have the correct attitude. The locker room problems have been solved and Pep Guardiola has shown that he is able to deal with the egos.
 
By now he has an ultra-motivated Eto'o and everything is working out at Barcelona.
 
They absolutely have the talent to get the job done. Xavi, the best midfielder in the world at this point, will be the leader of this new Barcelona. If Messi keeps healthy he will be unstoppable. They also have special players such as Daniel Alves and the teenager Bojan.

I don't expect a rebirth of Henry, but if he gets a similar role of Larsson's one a couple of years ago he will be another threat coming off the bench.
 
They have the talent, but, on the other hand, they are not a settled team. It will be key the time they take learning the system and learning to play together. If they start fast, they will be able to challenge for the title.

Gonzalo: They certainly have the squad to do so. My main question marks are around the manager and the stability of the board.

While Guardiola has had a good deal of success with the Barcelona youth team, it's a whole different ball game at the top. Barcelona have looked good in the preseason, and in the Champions League qualifiers, but I do wonder how well Guardiola will be able to cope with the press and the fans when they hit a tricky patch (as all sides must at some point).

My other question mark is about President Laporta. I think he's been wounded over the summer and only barely survived the vote of no confidence—if things get tough, will he press the panic button?

Dakota: Of course they will—at least for half of the season. They are playing great football right now and I think that will definitely carry through the first third of the season.

But that is when the tricky parts of the season begin. How will this untested team, new coach, and under-pressure president respond when Barcelona hits their first speed bump?

Team veterans such as Xavi, Puyol, and Valdez will be integral in keeping the team together and helping them grow from a collection of talent to a competitive team.

If they can overcome adversity and Pep can bring the great talent on this team together, Barcelona will quickly return to their spot as a serious title contender.

Can Real Madrid complete the three-peat?

Iñaki: Absolutely.
 
They are a settled team. The club have done a great job the last couple of years bringing good players to Madrid. Besides Casillas, they do not have a world star such as Ronaldo or Fernado Torres, but Madrid have a pretty complete team.
 
They have good wingers, good defenders, and a very reliable overall team. They also work like a team.
 
As said, they are in position to complete the three-peat. Nevertheless, I see an inside threat.
 
The fans, the media, and also the club are claiming to take the UEFA Champions League trophy back. If they advance through the competition, they will focus on the European contests. In this case it will be tough for them to make the three-peat.

Gonzalo: They can, but I suspect it will be much less comfortable than last year. Real built an incredible cushion over the first half of the season, picking up victories in the dying minutes when the teams around them could not finish their games off. This cushion helped them to overcome their own sticky patch around February.

Their team basically has the same core players, who know how to play well together and under Schuster. However, they are vulnerable to injuries as the squad depth is not perhaps what it should be.

Van der Vaart was an intelligent purchase, especially since Sneijder will be out of action until about November. I think they will struggle in the Champions League, but, you never know with Real.

Dakota: For sure they can. Whether they will is the real question.

Madrid is a team built to win in La Liga, where balance and fitness can get a team through the tough patches that every team will inevitably face, but can they pull everything together to succeed?

With the addition of Van der Vaart, Madrid boasts one of the best midfields in the world.  But the key for me to the team is health. Already Sneijder has been lost for three months and Madrid will have to avoid injuries if they have a chance to repeat.

Which player do you expect to have a breakout season?

Iñaki: Fernando Llorente. Athletic Bilbao.

This striker has plenty of talent to have a breakout year. He is a super size guy (1.95 m) and he also has good ball skills. He is a poor version of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
 
Llorente is the offensive reference of his team. Last year he scored 11 goals. He is only 23, and under Coach Joaquin Caparros I expect him to be great this year.
 
Honourable mention: Pablo Hernandez (Valencia) Higuain (Real Madrid)

Gonzalo: Tough one, this. I'm hoping De la Red gets enough playing time at Real Madrid to finally add to the list of players that have come up through the ranks (Real haven't had one since Casillas).

Dakota: A few players stick out for me, but I expect to see the biggest rise from an already well known player.

I think this is the year we will finally see Arjen Robben live up the all of the hype we have heard for years. The Madrid winger has looked fantastic this preseason and finally looks poised to explode.

Unfortunately, Robben has a body as delicate as glass and injuries have been the biggest issue, but if he can stay healthy he will rise to a new plateau.

Which team will be this seasons surprise and come from mid-table and challenge for a Champions League spot?

Iñaki: Athletic Bilbao. I've picked Llorente as my breakout player for the upcoming season and I pick his team for the surprise of the year.
 
I firmly trust Joaquin Caparros, who enters in his second season as Bilbao's coach. He did a remarkable job with Sevilla. Caparros built the team that won back to back UEFA Cup titles. He knows how to get the job done. He has taken back the pride and the aggressiveness to Bilbao, the Spanish team with the largest tradition.
 
Athletic is a talented although young team that had a nice improvement last year.
 
Caparros has settled an interesting team. They have plenty of smart players all around the field. They recover Iraizoz, the most underrated goalkeeper in the League, and Gurpegui. This guy spent a couple of years suspended after violating the League's substances rules. Gurpegui is a key player in the midfield spot.
 
The rest of the team is back. Players such as Amorebieta, Iraola, Javi Martinez, and Llorente will lead this team to a UEFA Cup spot.

Gonzalo: Racing nearly did it last year but faded towards the end. I think Getafe have once again bought wisely and may well challenge for the top four spots if things go their way.

Dakota: I guess it is not really going out on a limb, but my team on the rise has to be Valencia.  They still have serious problems at the back end and in goal, but up front, between David Villa, Morientes, David Silva, Joaquin, Mata, Vicente, and Benega they have the best young attacking midfield and forwards.

After a disastrous year that saw them finish in 10th last season, I expect
a meteoric rise from los Ches this season. Possibly even a Champions League spot.

Who will the top four be?

Iñaki: I don't really see any change at the top four. Real Madrid, Villarreal, FC Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid will fight for the top four.

Gonzalo: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla (I think they're on their way back), and Atlético Madrid.

Dakota: I think Real Madrid and Barcelona will be in there for sure and then I expect a serious rise from Atletico and Valencia will sneak in just above Villarreal and Sevilla.

Who will be relegated?

Iñaki: Coming from Segunda we have Sporting, Malaga and Numancia. In my opinion, Sporting and Malaga will be able to have a nice year. Numancia won't. They surprised everybody clinching a ''La Liga'' spot, but they definitely don't have enough talent.

Recreativo will also struggle. They have lost Sinama Pongolle, and it's a huge loss for them. He maintained the up with his goals, and they will miss them this year.
 
Osasuna will be relegated too. They did the job in the last week lasr season. I think that they won't' be able to do it again this year.

Gonzalo: Of the three that came up from Segunda, I think Sporting and Málaga will struggle. This may be the year that Athletic Bilbao finally drops down, but it will probably be Recreativo or Almería.

Dakota: I expect Sporting to struggle off the bat and while I don't expect fantastic things out of the other promoted clubs, I think they will survive. Recreativo and Valladolid will join Sporting on their trip to the second division.

Thanks again to Gonzalo and Iñaki for their help and I look forward to more La Liga round tables in the future.