La Liga Title Odds 2021/22

Barcelona are the bookmaker’s favourites to win La Liga in the upcoming 2021/22 season at 6/4 following a summer of transfer activity that has seen the likes of Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, Emerson Royal and Eric Garcia all arrive at the Nou Camp.

With Messi signing a new five-year deal at the Catalan club, there is every chance that they could win their first La Liga crown since the 2018/19 campaign under the stewardship of Ronald Koeman, as they missed out by seven points last time out due to a poor start and finish to the season, as they managed to win just four of their opening 10 fixtures and just two of their last five games in the league.

Ronald Koeman’s side showed that they have what it takes to fight the title in the middle of the season, as following a 2-1 loss to Cadiz in early December, they strung together a 19-game unbeaten run, winning 15 times to claw their way back into the title race before three costly losses to Real Madrid, Granada and Celta Vigo as well as draws against Levante an Atletico Madrid blew their chances.

However, with the additional firepower that Barca have signed to add to what was already by far the best attack in La Liga following an 85-goal haul last season, 18 more than Atleti and Real, they will be expected to hit the ground running and be stronger than they were last time out.

Real come in as second-favourites in what is expected to be a season of transition following the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti from Everton, having replaced Zinedine Zidane following his resignation from the Santiago Bernabeu for a second time as manager.

Los Blancos finished last season trophyless for the first time since the 2009/10 campaign when Manuel Pellegrini was in charge and finished as runner up in La Liga with 96 points. The only addition that Real have made to their squad so far this summer is David Alaba on a pre-contract deal from Bayern Munich, although they do have the likes of Gareth Bale and Martin Odegaard returning from loan spells at Tottenham and Arsenal which could be handy players for Ancelotti to have in his ranks.

Ancelotti didn’t manage to win La Liga last time he was Real manager, although he did lead them to La Decima in 2013/14, whilst also winning the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup in the same year and will be desperate to build on last season’s narrow miss under predecessor Zidane who lost out on the title to Atletico by two points, but the Italian may have his work cut out defensively due to the departure of Sergio Ramos and the potential exit of Raphael Varane from the Santiago Bernabeu.

Despite winning La Liga last time out, Diego Simeone’s Atletico come in as underdogs at 10/3 to retain their league title having managed to win the league on the final day of last season following a 2-1 victory away at Real Valladolid thanks to strikes from Angel Correa and Luis Suarez.

Simeone has managed his team to two league title wins in the last seven years at Atleti and has even managed to further strengthen his squad via the signatures of Marcos Paulo on a free transfer from Fluminense and Rodrigo de Paul from Udinese, with the Argentinian coming into this campaign with impressive numbers from Serie A, having managed 19 goal contributions from central midfield in 36 league appearances.

Something that the Argentine prides his teams on is defensive organisation which was demonstrated last season, as they conceded the least goals of anyone in the division, letting in just 25, which is 13 less than the likes of Barcelona. With rumours circulating that Antoine Griezmann could be re-joining Atleti in a swap deal for Saul Niguez to go alongside Luis Suarez, Atleti will likely need to beat last season’s goal tally of 67 goals to score a higher points tally to ultimately win La Liga in back to back seasons.

Sevilla come into this season priced at 18/1 and are the most realistic of the outsiders to stand any chance of matching the top three, having managed 77 points last season, finishing nine behind eventual winners Atletico, following just two wins in their last five outings. If Sevilla are to stand any chance of challenging once again then they will need to desperately increase their goal tally from 53, having had a decent defensive record, conceding just 33 times.

Real Sociedad and Villarreal come in priced at 50/1 following Sociedad’s bright start to La Liga last season, which saw them top of the table after their opening 10 games, earning 23 points, whilst Villarreal are starting the upcoming campaign fresh from their Europa League triumph against Manchester United in May under the management of Unai Emery.

In terms of nostalgia, the last team to win the league that wasn’t any of Barca, Real or Atletico was Valencia back in the 2003/04 campaign under Rafael Benitez. In recent times the club have been struggling financially and are desperately looking to raise funds in the current financial climate, hence why they are priced at 750/1 to win La Liga for the first time in 17 years.