La Liga Fixtures 2015 Week 1: Schedule, Live Stream Info, Picks and Key Players
The 2015-16 La Liga season is finally upon us, and Week 1's fixtures have thrown up some exciting matchups to kick off the new campaign.
In a repeat of the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona face Athletic Bilbao, where they will be looking to make amends after losing to the Basque club 5-1 on aggregate.
Real Madrid begin their campaign away at newly promoted Sporting Gijon, while rivals Atletico welcome Las Palmas to the Vicente Calderon.
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Another exciting clash sees Europa League winners Sevilla take on Malaga.
Here is the full schedule for Week 1, complete with live streaming information and predictions for each game:
| Friday, August 21 | 7:30 p.m./2:30 p.m. | Malaga vs. Sevilla | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 1-2 |
| Saturday, August 22 | 5:30 p.m./12:30 p.m. | Deportivo vs. Real Sociedad | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 1-1 |
| Saturday, August 22 | 5:30 p.m./12:30 p.m. | Espanyol vs. Getafe | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 2-0 |
| Saturday, August 22 | 7:30 p.m./2:30 p.m. | Atletico Madrid vs. Las Palmas | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 3-0 |
| Saturday, August 22 | 9:30 p.m./4:30 p.m. | Rayo Vallecano vs. Valencia | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 3-1 |
| Sunday, August 23 | 5:30 p.m./12:30 p.m. | Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 2-2 |
| Sunday, August 23 | 5:30 p.m./12:30 p.m. | Sporting Gijon vs. Real Madrid | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 0-4 |
| Sunday, August 23 | 9 p.m./4 p.m. | Levante vs. Celta Vigo | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 1-2 |
| Sunday, August 23 | 9:30 p.m./4:30 p.m. | Real Betis vs. Villarreal | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 0-2 |
| Monday, August 24 | 7:30 p.m./2:30 p.m. | Granada vs. Eibar | Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect | 0-0 |
Key Players
Mateo Kovacic, Real Madrid
Mateo Kovacic was confirmed as a Real player on Tuesday, per BBC Sport, and he could be in line to make his debut for Los Blancos.
The 21-year-old was an outstanding player for Inter Milan in an otherwise fairly disappointing few years for the club, and his arrival has whetted the appetites of fans and pundits alike, including ESPN's Musa Okwonga and WhoScored's Cristiano Acconci:
Real manager Rafael Benitez was full of praise for his new signing upon his arrival. Per their official website, he said: "He is a player with a lot of quality. The team suffered last year when [Luka] Modric got injured. He is not a defence minded midfielder nor someone who wins the ball back, he has quality and tends to play higher up. He is dynamic, good at passing, and is not scared of responsibility."
Despite his age, the Croatian is already on the way to becoming the complete package as a creative midfielder thanks to his excellent dribbling skills and array of passing.
Los Blancos should have few problems against Sporting Gijon, but look for Kovacic to impress on his debut in a dominant win for his new side.
Thomas Vermaelen, Barcelona
Thanks to Barcelona's incredible array of attacking talent, it's somewhat rare that one of their defenders is set to play a key role outside of El Clasico, as they can almost always rely on outscoring the opposition.
However, the Blaugrana were humiliated 4-0 by Athletic in the away leg of the Spanish Super Cup, and to make matters worse, crucial centre-back Gerard Pique was shown a straight red card in the second leg for verbally abusing a linesman.
Barca will now travel to Bilbao again without the Spaniard, and though Thomas Vermaelen was not directly culpable for any of Athletic's goals, he will need to put in a strong performance to ensure they avoid conceding an early lead in the title race to Madrid.
The Belgian only made his debut in May after struggling all of last season with injury. But, with a full pre-season under his belt, the 29-year-old should now be ready to make the step up if he can put the disappointment of the Super Cup behind him.
Per Sky Sports, Vermaelen expressed his desire to prove himself at the Camp Nou, saying: "I got a medal, but you don't feel like you have won the treble. I was very happy for the team, but it's not like I contributed a lot for the cups we won."
The centre-back was an important player for Arsenal during his time there, and his performance on Sunday will be crucial to Barca's hopes of coming through unscathed.
If the Belgian can silence the in-form Aritz Aduriz, the Blaugrana should come away with a victory.
