So how was the opening weekend of La Liga for you?
Did the SBOTOP La Liga betting odds ensure it was a fruitful return and did the results go the way you expected?
We asked the question in late June whether any of the newly promoted trio of clubs could survive.
Well, we have to wait until Monday evening to find out how Granada and Alaves started off but Las Palmas made a steady return to the top flight.
Against a Mallorca team which finished in ninth place last term, they were able to take a first half lead through a Jonathan Viera penalty against the run of play.
Mallorca were gifted an immediate chance to reply before the break but striker Vedat Muriqi’s spot kick came back off the crossbar.
The visitors continued to pose a major threat in the second period with two goals disallowed for marginal VAR calls.
Las Palmas dug in but, despite showing qualities of determination and combativeness which they will need in the months ahead, they were unable to hold on for a scrappy win as Sergi Darder’s corner was powered home by Antonio for a deserved equaliser.
The home crowd grew tense in the closing stages and they will need to vociferously back their boys on home turf to ensure their big return isn’t a short-lived one.
Home form certainly seems key for the Canary Islanders who hope they have strengthened after announcing a deal to sign Mika Marmol from Andorra who has penned a three-year deal with the club. Julian Araujo has also joined on loan from Barcelona.
Almeria stayed up by the skin of their teeth last time but there were no opening day La Liga highlights for them as they were defeated at home by Rayo Vallecano.
Two penalties in eight first half minutes did the damage for a team which narrowly missed out on a surprise European place last term but who have since lost coach Andoni Iraola to the English Premier League and Bournemouth.
Isi Palazon scored the first goal of the new season as he calmly slotted home from the spot before the visitors opted to swap penalty takers as Randy Nteka fired home to make it 2-0.
The only small positive for the home side was they rallied after the break and forced goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski into a string of fine saves.
That was one of two games to kick start the campaign on Friday night as the former team of the latter third of last season – Europa League winners Sevilla – went down to 10 men late on and were pipped at home by Valencia.
In a battle between two clubs who were expected to fare much better in the league, Mouctar Diakhaby steered the visitors in front before Youssef En-Nesyri headed the home side level with 10 minutes remaining.
Yet there was to be another twist as Loic Bade was sent off for the hosts and Javi Guerra came off the bench to emphatically power home a late winner for Los Che.
The main drama of the weekend came in the battle between the sides who finished fifth and sixth last term as William Jose scored a 95th minute winner for Real Betis at Villarreal.
The biggest body blow of the week came for Real Madrid.
Sure, they made a fine start with a 2-0 win in San Mames against Athletic Bilbao.
That was achieved courtesy of Rodrygo’s near-post finish and a league debut goal for Jude Bellingham, the English midfielder who volleyed in from close range following his move from Borussia Dortmund this summer and, in the process, became the first English player to score in a competitive game for Real since David Beckham in 2007.
Victory was soured though by the loss of defender Eder Militao who sustained the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Incredibly, the Brazilian is the second Real player to sustain the same injury in little over 48 hours following goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Militao was forced off early in the game after hyperextending his left knee and will undergo surgery in the coming days.
The injury to Militao has left manager Carlo Ancelotti with just three fit centre-backs – David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger and Nacho.
It’s been reported the club is not lining up a replacement but that is surely a risk ahead of a nine month campaign and with almost three weeks of the transfer window remaining.
It caps a few days of genuine misfortune for Madrid as they aim to reclaim the La Liga title.
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