#5 Real Madrid have a fairly easy task as Ronaldo, Pepe look to start their season
The Galacticos started their new season with a good 3-0 win away to Real Sociedad on the opening weekend of La Liga. In what is going to be manager Zinedine Zidane’s first full season in-charge of the club, Gareth Bale’s performance must have given the Frenchman some confidence that he can lead his side to the title come May 2017. Zidane led Real Madrid to an eleventh European trophy at the end of last season but his new task has been set by club President Florentino Perez.
The All Whites will be looking to win the Spanish league this season as they have managed to win the title only once in the last seven seasons. Two members of the BBC had been absent for the opening game of the season, but it was the lone survivor Gareth Bale who did the damage for the Los Blancos. The Welshman had scored inside two minutes to give his side the lead at Sociedad and finished the game with his second goal and Madrid’s third.
Whereas, youngster Marco Asensio also showed why he was picked ahead of James Rodriguez and Isco to start the game last weekend. The manager has a lot of selection issues at the club and it looks like that he is not selling any player in this window, therefore, an easy home game against Celta Vigo is probably the right match that Madrid need. The game could also see Euro winning duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe back in action but manager Zidane will not want to risk any of his players so early on in the season.
Real Madrid will host Celta Vigo in an 11:45 PM IST kick-off on Saturday (August 27, 2016).
#6 Barcelona may have a tricky game at Athletic Bilbao
The defending champions of La Liga had started the season on a high note by defeating Real Betis with a margin of 6-2. The Blaugrana had displayed a high brand of football and showed why they are the team to beat going into the new season. While Neymar was winning the gold medal for Brazil at the Rio Olympics, his MSN partners Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez romped over a helpless Real Betis side who were unable to cope up with Barca’s quality in the final third.
New signing Samuel Umtiti performed really well for the Catalans on his debut but still looks too young to be able to perform consistently for a team like Barca without making errors. Full-backs Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto were lacking in defensive intent as they were caught out of position several times. The duo kept bombing forward throughout the game but did not show enough defensive work rate.
This could be a negative point for Barca as they face Athletic Bilbao this weekend. The latter did not start their season on a high after losing to Sporting Gijon last weekend but the team is known to step up when they face the big teams. A hard-fought match could be on the cards but you can never overpower the attacking talent that Luis Enrique’s side have. The midfield for the visitors looks solid as ever with Arda Turan finally getting his chance to shine. We might also see the return of Neymar to league action as he returns from his home nation after a successful stint.
Barcelona will travel to Athletic Bilbao for an 11:45 PM IST kick-off on Sunday (August 28, 2016).
