La Liga 2019/20: Predicting the top six

Barcelona and Real Madrid are expected to battle it out till the end.

#5 Valencia

Valencia beat Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final last season.

Marcelino has had an instant impact in Valencia, taking the club straight to the Champions League for the second season in a row. A series of disastrous managerial appointments had left the club stranded for quite a while, but now they are more where they belong.

With a flurry of new signings since he came in, the manager has often laid out the 4-4-2 formation, keeping it tight at the back and deploying Goncalo Guedes, Santi Mina and Rodrigo as fast counter-attacking outlets. Departures of Santi Mina and Simone Zaza are big losses for Valencia this season, but new signing Denis Cheryshev, a star for Villareal and for Russia in the World Cup, will bring a new dimension to their attack as an attac.

Valencia had some very impressive performances last season, beating Real Madrid, Manchester United and even Barcelona in the Cup final, which shows how well Marcelino handles his side against the bigger teams. They have enough quality to get into the top six and they're one of the few strong contenders for the fourth Champions League spot this season.

Denis Cheryshev has made the switch to Valencia.

#4 Sevilla

With the standards that they have set for themselves, Sevilla had a poor last season, especially in Europe. They have shown in patches last season that they are the biggest team in Spain after Real, Barca and Atletico, and that they deserve to be in the Champion League.

Beating Real Madrid 3-0 and drawing twice against Atletico, the Andalusians did have some massive performances last season, but there were some poor ones as well. With the talent that they have in their squad along with the new signings this summer, Sevilla are one of the best teams in the league. New manager Julen Lopetegui had a brilliant record as the manager of the Spanish national side. He'll be looking to redeem himself at Sevilla after it didn't work out for him at Real Madrid.

Sevilla have made a whole bunch of changes, replacing familiar old faces with young talent. Luuk de Jong, Oliver Torres and Sergio Reguilon are the most eye-catching signings, and the team will definitely improve with them in their respective positions. It will be a challenge for the new players, the new manager and the old players to fit in together.

With the league table as close as it was last season, it will be a hustle between Sevilla, Valencia, Getafe and Real Betis for the fourth Champions League spot, but Sevilla might just have enough to cement their place in the Champions League spots.