Spanish football is well and truly back and Monday sees what promises to be superb doubleheader, as recently promoted Deportivo La Coruna take on Osasuna, while Rayo Vallecano face Granada.
With all four sides being known for their inconsistency, it’s sure to be an exciting evening and there’s sure to be plenty of goals.
Perhaps the pick of the two fixtures will be the early game between last year’s Segunda Division champions Deportivo and possible La Liga surprise package, Osasuna, at the Riazor (Deportivo evens, draw 12/5, Osasuna 13/5).
After winning the title in 2000, Depor have slowly declined and following years of difficulty, were finally relegated at the end of the 2011 season.
However, after clearing out a number of their squad, they dominated in the second tier, eventually finishing six points ahead of their nearest rivals.
They will be looking to carry their form into the new season but much will depend on the quality of veteran Juan Carlos Valeron.
The former Spanish international is the only remaining veteran of the championship winning side and will be looking to inspire his team to victory on Monday.
On the other hand, Osasuna are one of the success stories of the last few years, defying the odds to consistently challenge for European football, despite their lack of resources.
This summer they have once again invested wisely, with their best signing looking to be the loan acquisition of Joseba Llorente, who could finally provide Los Rojillos with a the consistent goal threat they’ve missed over recent years, so look out for him to be on target on Monday.
This one looks almost too close to call and in what is certain to be an end-to-end game, Osasuna’s extra class may just see them through (Osasuna 17/2 to win 1-0).
The later game sees Granada travel to the capital to take on cash-strapped Rayo Vallecano (Rayo 6/5, draw 9/4, Granada 11/5).
Once again, Rayo have been blighted by financial problems and their squad has been seriously depleted, most notably with the exit of last term’s top scorer Michu to Swansea.
However, they may have just found the perfect replacement in Argentine Alejandro Dominguez who joined from Valencia.
Things didn’t really work out for the 31-year-old at the Mestalla but there is no doubting his quality and he’ll be looking to dictate the pace of the game on Monday.
After upsetting the odds by staying up last season, Granada could well struggle this season but their unique partnership with Udinese has helped them recruit well this summer.
Of the five players they’ve gained in the off-season from the Serie A side, former Italy under-21 striker Antonio Floro Flores could be the key man and he’s certainly still good enough at the top level, scoring 10 times in 18 appearances last year.
Finding the net has been a major issue for the Filipinos but the 29-year-old could make the difference for them this term and look out for him to regularly challenge the Rayo defence on Monday.
Like the first game, this looks almost too close to call but Granada appear to have just that extra bit of quality and should just sneak it by a single goal (Granada 15/2 to win 1-0).
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