Arguably, the most skill laden league on the planet is, once again, open for business. Although the first week's games presented minimal fodder for the aficionado, footballing purists will rejoice at its recommencement. La Liga kicked off its season this past weekend to, it must be said, a more rapturous applause of expectation than post game exhilaration and, although goals were scarce, the story lines were not.

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Barcelona

Barcelona opened their account with a gritty one nil victory over Athletic Bilbao and with Pedro now plying his craft in London and Neymar the subject of raucous rumors, the Blaugrana will be happy with the result. It took a second half Luis Suarez volley to decide this one and having lost Dani Alves and Sergio Busquets to injury during the game, the Catalan team had to dig deep for the three points, Senor Messi, displaying an occasional glimpse of his genius, had, overall, a rather quiet day at the office and even had the audacity to miss a penalty kick. Nevertheless, Barce are up and running.

Neymar

The rumors surrounding the team's young Brazilian superstar refuse to dissipate with some media outlets purportedly reporting that Manchester United are preparing an insane 240 million British Pound transfer bid for the 23-year old. However, we feel its more than likely that Neymar himself will use all this conjecture to secure a new contract with his Spanish employers and Barcelona's hierarchy are dismissing all the talk out of hand as they look to secure Neymar's services in a new contract extending to 2020. A Neymar move to Manchester United remains highly unlikely and we think there may be a bigger chance of Gareth Bale returning to English football instead, and indeed probably to Manchester United.

Real Madrid

Bale and co. opened their season with a tepid nil all draw away to newly promoted Sporting Gijon but Los Blancos still have a reason to be cheerful. Following incessant talk and conjecture, Karim Benzema has committed his future to Real Madrid and once again, it seems, Arsenal have failed to secure a significant signature as the transfer window begins to close. It'll be interesting to see if Madrid chieftain, Rafa Benitez, will employ Bale in his natural left wing position this season which would make Ronaldo the team's de facto centre forward. The creative nous would then surely emanate from Benzima but if Ronaldo can't embrace the striker's role, Benitez's honeymoon in Madrid could end dramatically.

Atletico

As if the transfer turbine couldn't produce enough noise, Diego Costa has, according to Spanish media outlets, met with Atletico Madrid's chief executive wherein he has expressed his desire to return to Madrid. However, we feel that with Fernando Torres back from Italy, Atletico chief Diego Simeone may not urgently need the services of yet another striker. Atletico began their season with a one nil win at home to Las Palmas but will face stiffer opposition this weekend when they play Sevilla away from home.

This Weekend's Fixtures

Eibar, the minnows from the Basque country go into the second weekend on top of the table and this is the "Bournemouth" story of La Liga. With a stadium capacity of only 5,000 spectators and saved from relegation last year due to a financial irregularity that saw Elche regulated instead, this team is this year's La Liga fairy tale. Buena Suerte Eibar.

Friday 28 August 2015

Villarreal v Espanyol El Madrigal 2:30 pm ET

Saturday 29 August 2015

Real Sociedad v Sporting de Gijon Anoeta 12:30 pm ET

Barcelona v Malaga Camp Nou 2:30 pm ET

Celta de Vigo v Rayo Vallecano Balaidos 4:00 pm ET

Real Madrid v Real Betis Santiago Bernabeu 4:30 pm ET

Sunday 30 August 2015

Eibar v Athletic Club Ipurua 12:30 pm ET

Valencia CF v Deportivo de La Coruna Mestalla 2:30 pm ET

Sevilla v Atletico de Madrid Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan 2:30 pm ET

Las Palmas v Levante Gran Canaria 4:30 pm ET

Getafe v Granada CF Coliseum Alfonso Perez 4:30 pm ET

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