2026-27 La Liga Season Betting Preview, Futures Odds, Picks & Predictions
Coming off a World Cup in which Spain won emphatically – only giving up a single goal the entirety of the tournament – La Liga should have even more focus on it than it usually does when it kicks off on Saturday. It won’t start off at its most compelling — as likely mid-table teams Alavés and Getafe get it rolling, with Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano looking to stave off relegation concerns later in the day.
But soon enough, familiar teams and storylines will emerge — including defending champions Barcelona, who had eight players on the winning World Cup squad (and could add a ninth with a move for Manchester City’s Rodri in the works), and runner-ups Real Madrid, which oddly did not have a single player feature for Spain this time around (though the team that ushered in the Galacticos isn’t lacking in World Cup players from other teams, and have Jose Mourinho back in his second go-around as manager).
Potential title challengers Atlético Madrid and Villarreal will both get early boosts, starting off against newly promoted teams before facing off against each other in their second matches of the season, while longer shots like Real Betis and Valencia will start their seasons against each other.
2026-27 La Liga Winner Odds
Barcelona returns with a stacked lineup largely intact from its league-winning season, and with head coach Hansi Flick signing an extension. The squad is anchored by the transcendent 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, though he lost out on the World Cup’s best young player award to teammate Pau Cubarsí, who anchors Barca’s back line. Standouts like midfielders Pedri and Fermín López also make the Blaugrana formidable.
However, there’s a question of who will lead the line. Robert Lewandowski left to find glory overseas in MLS with the Chicago Fire, while the World Cup final’s lone goalscorer, Ferran Torres, looks to be moving to PSG. Karim Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon have signed on to the project as wide attackers, and adding Rodri would bolster the midfield immensely — but would that be enough to guide Barca to a title?
Meanwhile, Vinicius Junior provided one of the more intriguing transfer sagas of the summer, reportedly coming close to moving to Arsenal and altering the fortunes of Real Madrid and La Liga. But he’s committed himself to the club and to (for now) Mourinho as manager, which somewhat stablizes the most logical challenger to Barca for the title. Vinicius paired with World Cup Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappé means that goals will come, and adding Yan Diomande shows ambition (and, perhaps, video game-style roster building).
But Real Madrid is in the midst of a title drought, and bringing the mercurial Mourinho in to direct the project is a risk.
Of the other teams outside of the El Clásico pairing, Atlético Madrid is the best placed to take the title, though it’s currently trying to hang onto its best attacker, Julián Alvarez, who has been receiving transfer attention from Barcelona. Alvarez making that move would solve the earlier situation we discussed and probably lock Barca in for a title repeat, but as long as Alvarez stays in red-and-white stripes, the race stays more interesting.
Atléti did, like Barca, see one of its aging but effective attackers move to MLS, as Antoine Griezmann has moved on to Orlando. The team does have coach’s son Giuliano Simeone and Norweigan striker Alexander Sørloth in the mix, though the latter looks to miss the campaign’s opening match with a muscle strain.
Bet: Barcelona
2026-27 La Liga To Be Relegated Odds
When looking at relegation odds, the first teams to consider are the ones who just got promoted. In La Liga, that starts with Málaga, qualifying through the Segunda playoffs, and Deportivo A Coruña, which finished second. Deportivo does has at least one recognizable name on the squad — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has had stops at Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea, and at 37, might be at his last career destination.
Racing Santander won the Segunda and elevated into La Liga with that performance, but with one of the top-to-bottom weaker rosters in the league, their fortunes look dim.
Of the non-promoted teams slated for relegation battle, Levante and Elche are among the most likely names, but according to Opta’s supercomputers, Deportivo and Elche would be joined by Sevilla — a team that’s had three straight 4th place finishes between the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons, with a Copa del Rey semifinal appearance within that stretch. However, a mass exodus of name players should have Sevilla fans worried about the prospects of relegation — though oddsmakers seem to have landed on Los Nervionenses staying above the drop.
Bet: Málaga and Racing
2026-27 La Liga Top Goalscorer Odds
The top goalscorer conversation in La Liga needs to start with Kylian Mbappé. The French star won the Golden Boot at the 2026 World Cup, becoming the first to win the award in two straight World Cups, and won Golden Boot awards in La Liga the last two seasons.
With Vinicius Junior remaining with Real Madrid, that does potentially cut into the goals Mbappé could get, but the work he does on the left wing provides lots of space for Mbappé in the middle. Last season, Mbappé got 25 goals while Vini got 16; clearly, when you’re playing for Los Blancos, there are plenty of goals to go around.
If you believe in Barcelona, Lamine Yamal — coming off a high-profile, moderate-impact World Cup performance — is likely to repeat at the team’s leading scorer, notching 16 goals last year. He actually was the co-leader, with Ferran Torres also getting 16, but since he’s finalizing his transfer to PSG as of this writing, you might look for him to be the Ligue 1 leading goalscorer instead.
In fact, it’s possible that Barcelona’s leading scorer for the upcoming season isn’t on the squad yet. With Atlético Madrid rebuffing Barca’s interest in Julián Alvarez, they might have to look at other candidates, such as Villarreal’s Georges Mikautadze or Beşiktaş’ Dušan Vlahović. Or it’s also possible that Raphinha, coming off what was ultimately a disappointing World Cup for Brazil, takes an increased goalscoring role this season.
Last year’s La Liga Golden Boot runner-up, Vedat Muriqi, has gone off to Fenerbahçe, abandoning relegated Real Mallorca, while Ante Budimir is still in the mix as Osasuna’s lead option after scoring 17 goals last year — though he is now 35 years old.
If you’re looking for World Cup players who could light it up in La Liga, you might consider the player who scored the most goals for Spain in the tournament. Mikel Oyarzabal, getting five goals for La Roja in its championship run, continues his one-team career with Real Sociedad and will be a major player in the team’s aspirations to reach the top four.
Bet: Mbappé
2026-27 La Liga Final Table Prediction
- Barcelona (29-4-5), 91
- Real Madrid (27-5-6), 86
- Atletico Madrid (26-6-6), 84
- Villarreal (23-5-10), 74
- Real Sociedad (20-9-9), 69
- Real Betis (18-11-9), 65
- Valencia (17-11-10), 62
- Bilbao (15-9-14), 54
- Celta Vigo (13-11-14), 50
- Rayo Vallecano (12-12-14), 48
- Osasuna (11-11-16), 44
- Espanyol (11-10-17), 43
- Getafe (10-11-17), 41
- Alaves (10-10-18), 40
- Sevilla (9-12-17), 39
- Deportivo (8-15-15), 39
- Levante (9-11-18), 38
- Elche (6-12-20), 30
- Racing (6-8-24), 26
- Malaga (5-7-26), 22
There’s a clear top four group that includes Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Villarreal, finishing similarly to where they did in the 2025-26 season. Just below them, though, are four teams – Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Athletic Bilbao, and Valencia – that could challenge for fourth, most likely supplanting Villarreal in the Champions League places.
If you’re looking for matches that will decide the La Liga race, start with El Clásico, which will see Barcelona host Real Madrid on Oct. 25, with the return leg on May 9 just three weeks before the end of the season. Barcelona goes to Atléti on Nov. 8, and then host on Feb. 7. The Madrid derbies on Sept. 20 (with Atléti hosting) and April 4 (with Real hosting) will also be crucial to both teams’ campaigns.
The final day of the season has some potential top four deciders, including Real Betis hosting Atléti and Real Sociedad hosting Villarreal. If you’re looking to get a sense of how the top four might look, the Aug. 23 Atléti-Villarreal match, the Real Sociedad-Atléti match on Sept. 13, and the Villarreal-Real Betis match that same day could provide early insights.
Further down the table, a group of six teams are slated to be battling for relegation, including the three recently-promoted teams. Though Deportivo A Coruña has to face Real Madrid in its final match, that team should get enough from Aubameyang to stay afloat. Elche hosts Racing on the final day, and though we’re projecting both to already be relegated by that match, there’s also the possibility that it could be a two team enters, one team remains in La Liga-style match.
Sevilla faces Málaga on the final day, and given the dire predictions some have for Sevilla, that match could also be a relegation six pointer. But we’re predicting Málaga joins Elche and Racing to go back to the Segunda, while Girona, Real Oveido, and Real Mallorca find their way back up.
Photo Credit: REUTERS
