Key talking points as La Liga begins

Spain’s top flight kicks off the 2026/27 season on Saturday, although defending champions Barcelona and Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid are not in action yet.

AFP Sport looks at five talking points going into the first round of fixtures.

Giants must wait

Due to many of their players being involved in the latter stages of the World Cup, Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid will not play their first matches until next weekend.

Hansi Flick’s Barca, back-to-back La Liga winners, visit Elche on August 23, a day after Mourinho’s first match at the helm of Real Madrid in his second spell at the club, away at Espanyol.

Much of the intrigue heading into the season concerns whether the Portuguese coach can revive a Madrid side after two seasons without a major trophy, as well as how Los Blancos’ several summer signings bed in.

As well as the postponements for Barca and Madrid’s matches against Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad respectively, Atletico Madrid’s first game against Malaga was pushed back by a few days to August 19.

Real Betis’s scheduled visit to Valencia will also not take place on the opening weekend for the same reason.