And welcome to the penultimate preview in this little five part mini-series. As the opening gambit suggests, the domestic league of the European champions is in this column’s sights, and after a desperately disappointing season last year (in which Real Madrid comfortably retained the title, despite often giving the impression of not wanting to do so), myself and countless other fans of La Liga are hoping that some of the warm glow from la selección’s summer triumph will rub off on the Primera this year.

The frustrations encountered by Real Madrid in attempting to strengthen their squad should at least make the title race more competitive this year; as this column went to press, Los Merengues had only made one proper signing in the form of Rafael Van der Vaart (with Ruben de la Red technically returning from an impressive loan spell at Getafe, and Ezequiel Garay staying at Santander for another season before joining next year.) The same deficiencies evident in last year’s squad persist; the long and wrist-slittingly tedious pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo highlights the lack of a top quality right winger at the club. At the same time, the likely departures of Robinho (and, erm, Javier Saviola) will leave Madrid’s attack even more lacking in pace than it was last season (the potential arrival of David Villa would be the ideal solution to the problem of Van Nistelrooy’s increasingly creaking limbs, but no-one at the club would dare to make such a move for fear of offending Raúl’s sensibilities.) Central defensive additions wouldn’t hurt either, but with the superhuman Iker Casillas in goal, this is arguably less of a concern. Such concerns might not ultimately harm their defence of the La Liga crown, but will almost certainly hinder their progress in Europe.

Despite their disastrous campaign last year, and the turmoil surrounding Joan Laporta’s tenure as president, Barcelona may yet pose the biggest threat to Real; the Blaugrana have probably made the right decision in conducting their own “galactic purge” (the unconvincing Frank Rijkaard has been removed from the managerial hot-seat, while many of the over-indulged - literally in Ronaldinho’s case - superstars have also gone) and former youth team coach & local hero Pep Guardiola has been appointed boss. Some astute purchases have also been made; Dani Alves should provide greater attacking urgency at right-back, while the likes of Seydou Keita and Aliaksandr Hleb should provide the midfield with grit and creativity respectively. Attempts to reinforce the forward positions have not been succesful, however (which, given Thierry Henry’s continuing problems with fitness and form, Ronaldinho’s departure and Eto’o’s questionable temperament, is a source of considerable alarm in Catalunya) and legitimate questions could be raised about Guardiola’s experience and how he will be able to cope with a position of this size and pressure (he might riding high in the current opinion polls after an impressive pre-season, but how will he fare if Barça experience a slump in form?) Ultimately, however, I suspect that Barça’s fortunes will hinge on the fitness of the supremely gifted Lionel Messi. If they can keep him fit for a whole season, Barça might win the league; if they don’t, they will almost certainly fall short.

The current difficulties faced by both of Spain’s superpowers may pave the way for some of La Liga’s lesser lights to launch their own title tilt; as last season, Villarreal are the best placed team to challenge the Real-Barça hegemony, having only lost Martín Caceres at the time of writing while also buying impressively (the likes of Mallorca’s little Argentine playmaker Ariel Ibagaza and Valladolid forward Joseba Llorente look particularly tasty.) The Yellow Submarine’s squad may not yet be capable of sustaining challenges both domestically and in Europe, however. The loss of three of their best players (Christian Poulsen, Seydou Keita and Dani Alves) will probably restrict Sevilla to a UEFA Cup spot (the likes of Aldo Duscher and Sébastien Squillaci simply aren’t of the same calibre, though it will be interesting to see how Lautaro Acosta fares after his move from Lanús), which should fill Atlético Madrid fans with confidence ahead of the new season (not only have Los Colchoneros bought well but, more crucially, they’ve kept hold of the second best youngster in the world, Kun Agüero.) It will also be interesting to see how Valencia fare this season: the combined incompetence of Messrs Koeman and Soler saw Valencia’s season disintegrate from one which ought to have seen them challenge for the title into one where they were involved in an unnecessary fight for survival. The financial woes inflicted on them by Soler still have not yet been resolved (which may yet result in the departure of David Silva), but at the very least, David Villa looks likely to stay at Mestalla, and with a still rather impressive squad (not to mention the arrival of rising managerial star and noted taskmaster Unai Emery), Valencia ought to secure a UEFA Cup spot this year. The likes of Almería and Racing Santander (having lost Emery and Marcelino respectively, arguably Spain’s best two young coaches) are unlikely to push for Europe like they did last year, as are Mallorca and Getafe (who have already lost a number of key players, particularly in Mallorca’s case), not to mention Espanyol (who are likely to before the transfer window slams shut.) As a result, this column expects Athletic Bilbao and Deportivo La Coruña to be the two chief protagonists in the fight for the final UEFA Cup place (Depor, with some impressive new arrivals in the form of Aranzubia and Omar Bravo, should just about edge it.)

In terms of the relegation battle, both Numancia and Sporting Gijón have been restricted in their transfer activity by a lack of funds and both seem set for a season of struggle, though Málaga have been busy enough during the summer transfer window to suggest that they should have enough to survive. Osasuna should also survive comfortably enough (though Carlos Vela has returned to the Emirates, the astute purchase of Roberto Soldado from Real Madrid means they should possess sufficient goal threat to avoid relegation), though one suspects that Valladolid won’t be so lucky (they only survived thanks to the chaos at Zaragoza last season, and have lost their main source of goals in Joseba Llorente.) Racing Santander may also experience a dangerous flirtation with relegation this season; they arguably overachieved in attaining a UEFA Cup place last year, and their coach/miracle worker from last season, Marcelino, has left for Zaragoza. In addition, though Racing have managed to keep Ezequiel Garay for another season, another key part of last season’s Racing side (Aldo Duscher) has departed for Sevilla, and the squad remains far too thin to cope with both domestic and European exertions. Given the lack of goals among Gijón’s strikers, however, this column’s money is on Racing just surviving.

OK folks, that’s all for now, but before I go, here are my predictions for the coming season in La Liga:

Champions: Real Madrid (though that may depend on how much, or how little, time Messi spends on the treatment table.)

Runners-up: Barcelona (see above.)

Champions League places: Villarreal (have bought very well, but probably won’t be able to compete on two fronts), Atlético Madrid (brilliant first XI, shame about the squad.)

UEFA Cup places: Sevilla, Valencia, Deportivo La Coruña (Cup results permitting.)

Relegation: Sporting Gijón, Valladolid, Numancia (in that order.)