Early La Liga Fixtures to Get Excited About

With La Liga season 2013/14 now just a week away, the excitement is beginning to build.

Can Atletico Madrid mount a realistic challenge to topple the Real Madrid and Barcelona duopoly of the last few seasons?

Will Real's new-look and expensively-assembled squad put the memories of a disappointing last season behind them or will Gerardo Martino's Blaugrana carry on where they left off in May?

How will newcomers Elche fare, and will fellow promoted sides Almeria and Villarreal use their previous experience of La Liga to help them consolidate this season?

Are Malaga, sans Pellegrini and Isco, capable of another successful season and will Real Sociedad's foray into the UCL—should they dispatch Olympique Lyonnais in the qualifier—enhance or diminish their La Liga form?

Let's take a look at some early La Liga fixtures to whet the appetite...

Valencia vs. Malaga

The first weekend of the season sees two La Liga heavyweights play each other devoid of their star players from last season.

Valencia are minus Roberto Soldado and his 59 goals in 101 appearances will surely be missed, whilst the absence of playmaker Isco, Jeremy Toulalan, Joaquin and others will be just as keenly felt, if not more so, down at La Rosaleda.

Bernd Schuster has assumed the manager's role at Malaga after the departure of Manuel Pellegrini to Manchester City.

Known for his abrasive nature, Schuster won't accept second best or suffer fools gladly, so expect full commitment for the entire 90 minutes and the German to set up his Los Boquerones side to be extremely hard to break down.

New Valencia coach Miroslav Dukic is under pressure right from the off.

After failing to land a Champions League spot at the end of last season, Ernesto Valverde's reign as Valencia manager came to a premature end.

Nothing less than UCL qualification this season will be acceptable, therefore the home side need to hit the ground running and start as they mean to go on.

Real Madrid vs. Real Betis

Real Betis couldn't have been handed a tougher start than a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid.

Yet Pepe Mel will have his troops well-drilled for this one. 

Betis epitomise the ethos of their manager, and you can be sure that a Pepe Mel team will remain competitive right up until the final whistle.

The loss of Beñat Etxebarria to Athletic Bilbao may have given fans cause for concern but the capture of his replacement, Joan Verdu from Espanyol, is a great piece of business from the Andalusians.

Whilst Real Madrid are unlikely to have this game all their own way, the quality they possess in an attacking sense is going to be far too strong for many teams this year.

A full house for this one is guaranteed with new signings Isco and Asier Illarramendi likely to be handed a first La Liga start.

They could be joined by Gareth Bale if a rumoured world-record transfer (per ESPN) goes through during the next few days.

Mouth watering.

Rayo Vallecano vs. Elche

It has been 24 long years since Elche graced La Liga with their presence.

Manager Fran Escriba has quite a job on his hands with the Valencian outfit and surely anything other than consolidation will be seen as a bonus for a club that finished 20th in their last brush with the top flight.

Former Barcelona player Alberto Botia has pitched up on loan from Sevilla, along with teammates Manu Del Moral and Miroslav Stevanovic and other loan signings Carles Gil (Valencia) and Ruben Perez (Atletico Madrid).

Their first test arrives in the shape of an away trip to Vallecas in Madrid and Rayo Vallecano.

Paco Jemez's side finished a creditable eighth in La Liga last season, and the manager will look to ensure his team are challenging and worthwhile opponents once again, with Raul Baena—a summer capture from Espanyol—one of the new faces on show.

The visitors will no doubt be buoyed by their re-acquaintance with the big time, and this one could be a tough start for the home side, who would do well to afford Elche due respect.

Villarreal vs. Valladolid

The "Yellow Submarine" are back.

After a season long absence, Villarreal have clawed their way back to where they belong—La Liga.

Marcelino's squad are much changed from the team relegated a year ago, with a number of high-profile players leaving the club at that time.

Giovani dos Santos has joined from Mallorca this summer, and his experience should help the side in what is likely to be a difficult season for them. Defender Mateo Musacchio said as much to reporters, as noted by Inside Spanish Football.

After the messy departure and legal wranglings of Real Valladolid manager Miroslav Dukic's move to Valencia, new-man-in-charge Juan Ignacio Martinez will surely hope for a quieter start in the hot seat.

An early three points will go a long way to assuaging a demanding public who likely expect the club to improve on their 14th place finish last term.

Heinz Barmettler and Zakarya Bergdich have been signed during the window, but neither is a particularly well-known name to excite the fans.

This could be the perfect opening home fixture for Villarreal, coming as it does in week two of the season.

Malaga vs. Barcelona

Barcelona travel to La Rosaleda on week two of the season, a game that is sandwiched between both legs of the Supercopa.

It will be Malaga's first home game of the season after a tricky trip to Valencia, and Bernd Schuster will want to ensure his side remain competitive against a club that he served fantastically well as a player.

Vitorino Antunes has been Malaga's most expensive capture at €1.25 million, whilst Roque Santa Cruz's permanent capture is a plus point for the new manager.

With 10 new faces through the door, this may well be a season of transition for a team that has lost a number of its high profile players during the summer.

Gerardo Martino, whilst not underestimating an opposing side who were a hairs breadth from knocking Borussia Dortmund out of last season's UCL, may take the opportunity to tinker his staff and formation.

You can be sure that Martino will wish to secure the first silverware available so expect to see a slightly weaker first XI for this one, with a view to calling on the "big guns" if necessary.

Granada vs. Real Madrid

Granada sprang one of the surprises of last season when they defeated Real Madrid without even having a shot on goal throughout the 90 minutes!

Cristiano Ronaldo found the net as usual, but this time it was at the wrong end.

A mis-timed defensive header slid off of his perfectly coiffured barnet to leave Diego Lopez helpless, the first own goal of Ronaldo's career handing the hosts a memorable 1-0 win.

Expect no such gifts this time around.

Real are cruising through their preseason with Carlo Ancelotti's attacking formation, tearing apart all and sundry. 

A recent routine dismantling of Chelsea is indicative of how well the team have already gelled during this summer.

By contrast, Granada have spent the last few months trying to hang on to their prized assets.

Yacine Brahimi, Mikel Rico and Guilherme Siqueira have all been touted for a move away from the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes.

That they have remained in-situ is a testament to the persuasive powers of manager Lucas Alcaraz.

Their squad has been supplemented by five on-loan signings from Italian side Udinese however anything other than a big Madrid win will be more of a surprise than last season's shock result.

Real Sociedad vs. Atletico Madrid

Week three of the season sees Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid travel to San Sebastian to take on UCL newcomers Real Sociedad.

How Sociedad will fare this season is anyone's guess. Jagoba Arrasate has taken over the managerial reigns from Philippe Montanier and Asier Illarramendi's transfer to Real Madrid is bound to hurt.

On the positive side, the club have managed to hold on to captain Xabi Prieto and Inigo Martinez whilst Carlos Vela and Antoine Griezmann, who shared 24 goals between them last season, will be looking to continue their goalscoring exploits.

A Champions League play off against Lique 1's Olympique Lyonnais provides the team with another pressing challenge, and the outcome of this match could well dictate the mood at the Anoeta for the opening weeks of the season.

In David Villa, Atletico have a striker with something to prove.

Villa has looked sharp in training and the loss of Radamel Falcao to AS Monaco hasn't been felt as keenly due to the arrival of Spanish football's greatest ever goalscorer.

Barcelona's loss could well be Atletico's gain, and if Diego Simeone can get the team playing as well as last season, then fans of Los Rojiblancos are in for a treat.

Oliver Torres will look to enhance his burgeoning reputation, whilst the likes of Juanfran, Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois et al can all contribute to another successful campaign.

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Valencia vs. Barcelona

Valencia vs. Barcelona is always a highlight of any La Liga calendar. A fixture that never fails to delight and excite.

That it falls so early in the season—on week three—may benefit the home side.

New signing Helder Postiga will be keen to impress after his £2.6 million move from Real Zaragoza.

At the opposite end of the pitch, rumoured Barcelona close-season target (per skysports.com) Jeremy Mathieu should patrol his defensive sentry with the usual aplomb.

Whilst no one can doubt the quality available to new Barca manager Gerardo Martino, the visit to the Mestalla comes hot on the heels of a two-legged Spanish Supercopa and a tricky visit to Malaga in week two of the season.

It could potentially be Barca's undoing in this game.

Squad rotation is a must, and we may learn quite a bit about Martino during the opening weeks of La Liga 2013/14.