La Liga Schedule 2017-18: List of Fixtures for New Primera Division Season

Real Madrid will begin the defence of their La Liga title when they open their 2017-18 campaign with an away clash against Deportivo La Coruna on the weekend of August 19.  

The full fixture list for the new La Liga season was drawn (in Spanish) on Friday, with Barcelona confirmed for an opening weekend clash against Real Betis at the Camp Nou. 

Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid side will start their campaign against newly promoted Girona, while Sevilla are set to face Espanyol on the first matchday.

La Liga provided the full lineup of fixtures for the opening weekend:

For the full 2017-18 schedule, visit La Liga's official website.

Real claimed their first league title in five years as they pipped Barcelona by three points in 2016-17.

They were pushed all the way by the Blaugrana but won six games on the bounce to end the league season, holding off the Camp Nou giants to win the title.

A similarly close battle between Spain's two biggest sides is likely again in 2017-18.

As such, the fixtures between them could be crucial to the destination of the league title.

The first El Clasico of the new season is scheduled for the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, Dec. 20, while the reverse fixture will be played on May 6 in the third-from-last round of the campaign, per ESPN FC:

It was effectively a two-horse race for the league title last term between Real and Barca, with third-placed Atleti finishing 15 points off the summit and fourth-placed Sevilla six further back.

However, Simeone's side have the ability in their ranks to challenge more comprehensively in 2017-18.

They were title winners in 2013-14 and finished just three points back from champions Barca in 2015-16.

Crucially, the Madrid outfit look set to keep hold of arguably their most important player: forward Antoine Griezmann.

The Frenchman was widely linked with a move to Manchester United earlier in the summer, but he agreed to remain at the club after their transfer ban was upheld, per BBC Sport.

Atletico's incredible defensive solidity has been key to their success in recent years, and they will hope to start the season with a clean sheet in their opener against La Liga debutants Girona.