La Liga (Spanish League) Prediction Thread 2025/26

[Furious 7]

Barcelona have conceded the most goals (15) among the top 3 teams in the table, which shows that they have problems in defence.

Losing Inigo in defense really had a big impact on Barcelona and it was the wrong decision from the start to let him go.

I think losing Ter Stegen to injury can still be minimized when the defense is strong especially their goalkeeper where Szczesny still gives the best performance under the bar despite his age and it was proven in several matches he even always appeared striking especially when El Clasico some time ago. But their poor defense for not closing the gap when Inigo left Barcelona makes the situation look much worse.

Indeed, we know that Flick seems to want to create some schemes where young players are a very good option for them but still in the end the absence of senior players who can be used as role models in defense makes Barcelona falter.

[hyudien]

It's true that Barcelona still concedes a lot of goals and this is truly absurd because i never thought I'd see such a poor defense from such a strong team. Clearly this is something they need to improve on if they don't want problems with other teams who score a lot of goals.

The problem is that Barcelona is still in a pretty bad financial situation, which is why they haven't been able to improve their defense, and they already realized this last season. If their finances were stable, they would certainly bring in some reliable defenders. For now, they have no choice but to rely solely on their offensive side to defend their title. Hansi Flick could try to change his squad's playing style, but if unsuccessful, Barcelona could face setbacks.

[pewboy]

The Spanish laliga is still in it early days, so I wouldn't be paying too much emphasis on who is at the  top or which teams are occupying the top five positions because I know that the reverse fixture has not even started, their are so many matches that have not been played so far, and I know for a fact that some teams that are out of form will later pick their form at the defining moment of the season once the reverse fixture start, so till then, I wouldn't be too hash on any team.
The team am a bit concerned about is Barcelona and their defense, they are just too porous at the back, and hansi flick should know better that before playing your central backs in such a system, they must be agile and pacy enough to carry it out, but with the case of Barcelona, they don't have such players in their team and they are playing in such a way. I think that he is setting his team up to be thrash if they come against a good and solid attacking side.

We're almost halfway through the championship, not even at the beginning, sorry if i contradict you.
I think that if some teams don't find the right setting by December, they won't find it anymore and their championship will continue like this, more or less badly unfortunately.
You can't do miracles in the last 3 months.

[giammangiato]

We're almost halfway through the championship, not even at the beginning, sorry if i contradict you.
I think that if some teams don't find the right setting by December, they won't find it anymore and their championship will continue like this, more or less badly unfortunately.
You can't do miracles in the last 3 months.

We're halfway through the championship and it's still all to see, they can change the game. Finding the right setup by December is really difficult. Maybe they'll limp in, and maybe we'll see some improvements in January. But specifically, Barcelona really has a way of changing their fortunes. Maybe they'll struggle more than they already have, but they have the desire and drive to make it happen. I think they can do it. The heaviest period is over, and the financial problems will certainly take a long time to heal.

[dollyamo]

I agree with you, the return of several key players like them will make Barcelona extraordinary again. Especially the presence of Pedri, Raphinha, and Yamal who are crucial pillars of Barcelona's game. I believe this season will be a tight title race because Xabi Alonso has brought about a change in Real Madrid's game, which is more collective compared to Ancelotti's style, which relies on individual quality. Therefore, if both teams can perform consistently like this, then the second leg of El Clasico will likely be the deciding factor in the La Liga title.

Yes Barcelona should now return to their full form, but I think maybe a couple of games, I don't think we'll see any great plays right away.
Real Madrid in recovery and that's good news, if all goes well we can see some good plays and a head to head for the Championship title.
Let's see what happens, it's the perfect time to see great plays.

[Hyphen(-)]

Yes Barcelona should now return to their full form, but I think maybe a couple of games, I don't think we'll see any great plays right away.
Real Madrid in recovery and that's good news, if all goes well we can see some good plays and a head to head for the Championship title.
Let's see what happens, it's the perfect time to see great plays.

Since almost all the injured players are back for Barcelona, they should fire on and maintain their form, but it might not with immediate effect because some of these players are not fit yet to play to their best ability. If the players all come back to their form, they can now consider the title race because they are still three points behind Real Madrid, and I don’t think Real Madrid will lose any match soon even though there speculations that some of their key players picked injury at their international duty.

Having squad depth is important in every team, and we have seen how both Barcelona and Real Madrid are suffering just because they don’t have second reliable player in all positions. This is very bad for big teams like Madrid and Barcelona, and I hope they can all amend as soon as possible if not the Champions league will be difficult for them to win.

[BIT-BENDER]

I agree with you, the return of several key players like them will make Barcelona extraordinary again. Especially the presence of Pedri, Raphinha, and Yamal who are crucial pillars of Barcelona's game. I believe this season will be a tight title race because Xabi Alonso has brought about a change in Real Madrid's game, which is more collective compared to Ancelotti's style, which relies on individual quality. Therefore, if both teams can perform consistently like this, then the second leg of El Clasico will likely be the deciding factor in the La Liga title.

Yes Barcelona should now return to their full form, but I think maybe a couple of games, I don't think we'll see any great plays right away.
Real Madrid in recovery and that's good news, if all goes well we can see some good plays and a head to head for the Championship title.
Let's see what happens, it's the perfect time to see great plays.

I just hope Hansi Flick look past age and keep playing Robert Lewandowski, to me Lewandowski is hungry, scores even with half chance created for him. Ferran Torres is good but if he can wait one more season maybe and learn more from Robert Lewandowski.
I am expecting Barcelona to catch up with Real Madrid before December finishes.

[HajiBagi]

Barcelona have conceded the most goals (15) among the top 3 teams in the table, which shows that they have problems in defence.

Losing Inigo in defense really had a big impact on Barcelona and it was the wrong decision from the start to let him go.

I think losing Ter Stegen to injury can still be minimized when the defense is strong especially their goalkeeper where Szczesny still gives the best performance under the bar despite his age and it was proven in several matches he even always appeared striking especially when El Clasico some time ago. But their poor defense for not closing the gap when Inigo left Barcelona makes the situation look much worse.

Indeed, we know that Flick seems to want to create some schemes where young players are a very good option for them but still in the end the absence of senior players who can be used as role models in defense makes Barcelona falter.

If you ask many Barcelona fans why Barcelona performance looked so poor this season, they will say because of injuries, some people will say because of Raphina absence, Barcelona defence is very bad, they did not know that Inigo Martinez was the best player last season, that is why they allowed him to leave, letting Martinez leave for free is one of the biggest mistakes Barcelona made this season, and it will be very difficult for them to get a better defender like him.

Inigo Martinez was the one who helped Cubarsi perform well last season, guiding him on how to defend and also helping Hansi flick in making the offside high line work. There is no defender who can do what Martinez did for Barcelona last season, and with the way Barcelona is currently looking, they will can not sign any top defender because they do not have the money to pay the player or even register him in La Liga.

[ndutndut]

It's true that Barcelona still concedes a lot of goals and this is truly absurd because i never thought I'd see such a poor defense from such a strong team. Clearly this is something they need to improve on if they don't want problems with other teams who score a lot of goals.

The problem is that Barcelona is still in a pretty bad financial situation, which is why they haven't been able to improve their defense, and they already realized this last season. If their finances were stable, they would certainly bring in some reliable defenders. For now, they have no choice but to rely solely on their offensive side to defend their title. Hansi Flick could try to change his squad's playing style, but if unsuccessful, Barcelona could face setbacks.

On the one hand Barcelona is experiencing financial problems that prevent them from bringing in strong defenders. However Barcelona's defenders aren't entirely bad, but Flick's strategy needs to be changed. He needs to learn a lot about why Barcelona concedes so easily partly because he still believes in implementing an offside trap defense

This is Barcelona's current weakness. I don't see any serious problems in scoring goals. But defensively if you look at Barcelona's defense in recent games, even last season, Flick still employs the offside trap. Even though this strategy is now readable by opponents, it's no surprise that when opponents escape the offside trap, Barcelona immediately concedes a goal. While this strategy is effective in securing the defense and making it more effective in attack, even the slightest mistake can be fatal for Barcelona's defense. Hopefully Flick will recognize this weakness.

[Sexylizzy2813]

It's quite sad to see how more and more Real Madrid players are suffering from injuries. The latest update is that Militao has a muscle injury and will be out for around two weeks. This means he will miss matches against Elche, Olympiacos, Girona, and Athletic (both in the Champions League and La Liga).

Source: Eder Militão is expected to miss 2 weeks

This doesn't make sense and is not a good news at all, I mean how can a defender who just came back from injury few months ago be planning to go on another one? I know is not easy but it seems like is time for Madrid to think of other options since they only have injury prone players these days and Rüdiger hasn't returned yet and they have Carvajah who just got back is now in the injury list so how can this team performance look like when the competition becomes tougher?
January is still far to hope on the club to get better replacement and if they are like this I feel they're in for trouble by dropping points, Barcelona are not in any shape to lose games after losing that number 1 position to Madrid so it will be tough for the league leaders.

[Lida93]

Barcelona have conceded the most goals (15) among the top 3 teams in the table, which shows that they have problems in defence.

Losing Inigo in defense really had a big impact on Barcelona and it was the wrong decision from the start to let him go.

I think losing Ter Stegen to injury can still be minimized when the defense is strong especially their goalkeeper where Szczesny still gives the best performance under the bar despite his age and it was proven in several matches he even always appeared striking especially when El Clasico some time ago. But their poor defense for not closing the gap when Inigo left Barcelona makes the situation look much worse.

Indeed, we know that Flick seems to want to create some schemes where young players are a very good option for them but still in the end the absence of senior players who can be used as role models in defense makes Barcelona falter.

Obviously Barcelona has a big problem at their defense and this problem has persisted for a long time without any improvement from last season to this very moment. This same issue was what made them lost the UCL last season, conceding a whooping seven goals against Inter Milan in a two leg encounter in the semis of the champions league, we were hoping that there would be some improvements from last season's errors but it seems the team is still struggling with the same issue.

[Agbe]

Snip

Snip

On the one hand Barcelona is experiencing financial problems that prevent them from bringing in strong defenders. However Barcelona's defenders aren't entirely bad, but Flick's strategy needs to be changed. He needs to learn a lot about why Barcelona concedes so easily partly because he still believes in implementing an offside trap defense

True I have watched Barcelona play a couple of games this season and from what I saw Barcelona play I can't say that Barcelona defense is that bad. The defenders are trying their best and is playing with a high level of seriousness and confidence, But the problem lies in the Philo of the coach the office tactics been applied to the Barcelona defensive lineup is not effective. There should be a holistic and proactive ways of defending keeping attackers offside is not a good defensive mechanism for a team like Barcelona.

[BRINIRHA]

It's true that Barcelona still concedes a lot of goals and this is truly absurd because i never thought I'd see such a poor defense from such a strong team. Clearly this is something they need to improve on if they don't want problems with other teams who score a lot of goals.

The problem is that Barcelona is still in a pretty bad financial situation, which is why they haven't been able to improve their defense, and they already realized this last season. If their finances were stable, they would certainly bring in some reliable defenders. For now, they have no choice but to rely solely on their offensive side to defend their title. Hansi Flick could try to change his squad's playing style, but if unsuccessful, Barcelona could face setbacks.

For now, Hansi Flick has no choice but to maximize what he has and try to maintain their usual playing style, which is still considered quite effective, even though their defense shows significant gaps that opponents always exploit to score goals against Barcelona.
And yes, there are financial constraints limiting the team's purchasing power in the transfer market. However, in the upcoming transfer window, we may see some quality defenders becoming targets for Barcelona. But this would likely mean sacrificing one of their key players by not renewing their contract—I'm referring to Lewandowski. If that happens, there are two options. Will they try to sign Rashford permanently or buy a quality player for the backline? But I think the situation will make Barcelona prioritize Rashford first, not the defense.

[jostorres]

I agree with you, the return of several key players like them will make Barcelona extraordinary again. Especially the presence of Pedri, Raphinha, and Yamal who are crucial pillars of Barcelona's game. I believe this season will be a tight title race because Xabi Alonso has brought about a change in Real Madrid's game, which is more collective compared to Ancelotti's style, which relies on individual quality. Therefore, if both teams can perform consistently like this, then the second leg of El Clasico will likely be the deciding factor in the La Liga title.

Yes Barcelona should now return to their full form, but I think maybe a couple of games, I don't think we'll see any great plays right away.
Real Madrid in recovery and that's good news, if all goes well we can see some good plays and a head to head for the Championship title.
Let's see what happens, it's the perfect time to see great plays.

I agree that it will take a few games before they are in full form. But most of the good players are coming back now so the yare going to have easier time scoring and will be better on defense as well. Not sure if that will happen quickly or not, like they may not be perfect on the very first game, but they can definitely do a fine job with time.

What we are seeing here is the fact that it's looking quite good and I think they should be happy with what's coming. In a few games after the national break, they are going to start good and then it will only get better. One thing to hope for them is to not have this type of injuries again, if they can prevent these injuries again then they will do great, if not then it will be problem.

[el kaka22]

The gap being closed down by Barcelona after that El Classico loss was the key to Barcelona getting a chance. Even with that gap, if all injured players came back then it would be a problem to cover that quickly, but because Real Madrid lost some games, Barcelona had a chance to do a better job and shouldn't be worried right now. It's possible for them to do a good job and I think they are going to. Could they repeat last years success?

I think it will be harder this year to do the same thing, but at the end of the day we are talking about a great situation for them and for that reason I think it can be done. We just need to let it be for a while and not have them forced to catch quickly, just give Barcelona a bit of time.

[BITCOIN4X]

~Snip

The problem is that Barcelona is still in a pretty bad financial situation, which is why they haven't been able to improve their defense, and they already realized this last season. If their finances were stable, they would certainly bring in some reliable defenders. For now, they have no choice but to rely solely on their offensive side to defend their title. Hansi Flick could try to change his squad's playing style, but if unsuccessful, Barcelona could face setbacks.

I don't think Barcelona's defense is that bad compared to others, perhaps a little hampered by some injuries so Hansi Flick has no other option but to play the players available. So far, Barcelona have conceded only 15 goals in 12 games, certainly worse than Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Villarreal, but their attack can make up for it. When all the injured players are back, I am sure Barcelona's defensive performance will be even better like before.

This week Barcelona will face Bilbao, this will be an important match for them and Barcelona must win. Being 3 points behind Real Madrid means Barcelona must step up their game and improve their stability. This will allow them to put pressure on Real Madrid, who currently lead the La Liga table.

[len01]

The problem is that Barcelona is still in a pretty bad financial situation, which is why they haven't been able to improve their defense, and they already realized this last season. If their finances were stable, they would certainly bring in some reliable defenders. For now, they have no choice but to rely solely on their offensive side to defend their title. Hansi Flick could try to change his squad's playing style, but if unsuccessful, Barcelona could face setbacks.

Unfortunately, their attacking line is dealing with injury problems right now, and even when some of the key players are back, I doubt Barcelona will perform as strongly as before. So if you’re saying Hansi will rely on the attacking line, it doesn’t look realistic if they’re aiming for multiple trophies. Unless Barcelona focus mainly on La Liga for now and wait until january to bring in new players.

For the moment, Madrid are still clearly ahead of Barcelona, and with everything Barcelona are going through, Alonso won’t be too worried about the battle for the top spot anytime soon.

[TopT3ns]

The problem is that Barcelona is still in a pretty bad financial situation, which is why they haven't been able to improve their defense, and they already realized this last season. If their finances were stable, they would certainly bring in some reliable defenders. For now, they have no choice but to rely solely on their offensive side to defend their title. Hansi Flick could try to change his squad's playing style, but if unsuccessful, Barcelona could face setbacks.

Unfortunately, their attacking line is dealing with injury problems right now, and even when some of the key players are back, I doubt Barcelona will perform as strongly as before. So if you’re saying Hansi will rely on the attacking line, it doesn’t look realistic if they’re aiming for multiple trophies. Unless Barcelona focus mainly on La Liga for now and wait until january to bring in new players.

For the moment, Madrid are still clearly ahead of Barcelona, and with everything Barcelona are going through, Alonso won’t be too worried about the battle for the top spot anytime soon.

The flow of play has been hampered by the absence of some of the attacking players at some of the key moments, and high amounts of consistency should not be anticipated. That being the case, one can safely say that high ambitions will be unrealistic until the point where the entire squad has been assembled. LaLiga can afford to save on energy as it waits in the next transfer window, which can result in true improvement. This gives Madrid ample time to be relaxed and we know why Alonso looks not at all inconvenienced by the fact that he has to face off a full-scale competition at last that does not give any indication of shifting the tide in the direction of Barcelona.

[Cookdata]

The problem is that Barcelona is still in a pretty bad financial situation, which is why they haven't been able to improve their defense, and they already realized this last season. If their finances were stable, they would certainly bring in some reliable defenders. For now, they have no choice but to rely solely on their offensive side to defend their title. Hansi Flick could try to change his squad's playing style, but if unsuccessful, Barcelona could face setbacks.

I'm not sure if financial is the reason why they didn't buy more defenders but it's clear that they had the best forward since the beginning of this season in Laliga. So far, they possess the total number of goals and there goals doesn't comes from a single player, it's span across all the attackers this tells us that everyone in front line of Barcelona are position and can independently deliver without the presence of one player, that's how you build team.

All in all, they are not bad, but I know some people will think they are not. They are in good place in my opinion, the margin point between Real and Barcelona is something that can be fix from now and in the next 6 weeks. If they can take over the table then Ansi is still in goof position to be using those players this way and if there is no improvement then January here, they can make changes and brings in new players to defend their back line.

[MorganaX]

The problem is that Barcelona is still in a pretty bad financial situation, which is why they haven't been able to improve their defense, and they already realized this last season. If their finances were stable, they would certainly bring in some reliable defenders. For now, they have no choice but to rely solely on their offensive side to defend their title. Hansi Flick could try to change his squad's playing style, but if unsuccessful, Barcelona could face setbacks.

Unfortunately, their attacking line is dealing with injury problems right now, and even when some of the key players are back, I doubt Barcelona will perform as strongly as before. So if you’re saying Hansi will rely on the attacking line, it doesn’t look realistic if they’re aiming for multiple trophies. Unless Barcelona focus mainly on La Liga for now and wait until january to bring in new players.

For the moment, Madrid are still clearly ahead of Barcelona, and with everything Barcelona are going through, Alonso won’t be too worried about the battle for the top spot anytime soon.

We can clearly see that the attacking tempo of Barcelona has basically dropped down, and this is something that will definitely linger for some time, as it may take a while to be recovered from the state they are in right now. Even though those key players that are in injury definitely come back, I don't think we are going to see the Barcelona of last season this season, it is totally a different one.

Despite the fact that the league is being top by real Madrid, there is still some fight ahead of both teams as we still have some games and lots more ahead of them, this will definitely be unpredictable as I have not seen the right team that will definitely win it this season.