The start of any La Liga season—or any domestic top flight—always brings up one or two teams that start in terrific form and quickly give false optimism to fans hoping for a big year, pundits hoping for a new side to think about in the race for Europe or to presidents and chairmen hoping not to have to sack the manager by October.
Inevitably, those teams begin to fade away as genuine quality, or lack thereof, squad depth, or lack thereof, and better opposition than the early fixtures provided get in the way of a sustained run at the top positions.
This year in Spain, Eibar and Deportivo La Coruna made those typically interesting starts. The former are still there or thereabouts, but they will likely plummet down the table a few spots soon enough—perhaps not quite as drastically as last season, though, when they finished in the relegation positions and were only reinstated to the division because of Elche's debt-related demotion.
That will leave the typical top-four challenge to be resumed: Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona and one of a clutch of teams fighting among themselves for fourth.
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The key difference this year? All four of the sides capable of challenging for fourth are, in fact, actually capable. They're all extremely good.
Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal and Celta Vigo. Four clubs, three different primary formations, each with very different ways of working the transfer market and all with the capacity in key areas—technical ability, managerial quality, a genuine standout talent or two—to make fourth place their own over the course of the season. The battle between them in this campaign will be memorable, long-running and exciting.
Celta Vigo currently lead the way, sitting in third, with Villarreal (fifth, one point back from Celta), Valencia (seventh, five from Villarreal) and Sevilla (11th, three from Valencia) all chasing.
This time around, things are set for a shake-up. The challengers and contenders are pitted against each other and the established order. The big guns. The perennial title threats. None of the quartet escapes with an easy week to gain back points on the others; Matchday 11 is a big moment of truth. Can they compete? Can they produce when it matters most? Can they extend a great start into a fantastic first half-season?
Some of them have already taken impressive one-off results. Celta beat Barcelona; Villarreal beat Atletico.
Points in isolation mean little; consistency in beating rivals is where challenges—for cups, league places and trophies—are really made. By Sunday night, some of those managers, fans and groups of players could be full to the brim with optimism that this season could be their time to take fourth and reach the Champions League.
Oh, and Eibar could end the week one point off fourth.
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nguon: bleacherreport
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