La Liga 2026-27 Season Kicks Off

Kathmandu. Spain's top division football league La Liga's 2026-27 season is starting from Saturday. Many players are returning to club football less than a month after the FIFA World Cup. Barcelona, with eight players from the World Cup-winning Spanish team, will take the field aiming to win the league title for the third consecutive time. Barcelona had won the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. However, this time their arch-rival Real Madrid will be led by experienced manager Jose Mourinho. Madrid, which has not won any major titles for two consecutive seasons, will be looking to regain its winning momentum this time. Everyone's attention will once again be focused on the title battle between Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, these two teams will not be playing in the first round of matches. There are seven matches in the first round, with the main attraction being Atletico Madrid's game. When does the new La Liga season start? The 2026-27 La Liga season is starting from Saturday with two matches. The remaining matches of the first round are scheduled for Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. La Liga first round matches and schedule: Alaves vs Getafe: Saturday, August 15 (5:30 PM GMT) Sevilla vs Rayo Vallecano: Saturday, August 15 (7:30 PM GMT) Racing Santander vs Villarreal: Sunday, August 16 (3:00 PM GMT) Espanyol vs Levante: Sunday, August 16 (5:00 PM GMT) Celta Vigo vs Osasuna: Sunday, August 16 (7:30 PM GMT) Deportivo vs Elche: Monday, August 17 (7:00 PM GMT) Atletico Madrid vs Malaga: Wednesday, August 19 (7:00 PM GMT) Why are Barcelona and Real Madrid not playing in the first round? In mid-July, La Liga postponed the opening matches of Barcelona and Real Madrid. This decision was made because many players from both clubs participated in the semi-finals and finals of the FIFA World Cup. The main players for Barcelona who played in the World Cup final were Spain's Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, and Ferran Torres. Torres' goal in extra time was decisive in giving Spain its second World Cup title. On the other hand, Real Madrid's main weapon Kylian Mbappe and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni reached the semi-finals with the French team. Madrid's playmaker Jude Bellingham was part of the England team that secured third place. When will Barcelona and Real Madrid play their first match? Barcelona will start their title defense with an away match against Elche on August 23. Real Madrid will play an away match against Espanyol on August 22.

La Liga 2026-27 Predictions