体坛英语新闻：Barca, Real expected to dominate as Spanish league prepares kickoff

Barcelona will still win more hearts with its flowing football, but expect Mourinho's side to be tough to score against and able to graft its way to wins.

Valencia can again expect to battle for a top four finish, but how well the side coached by Unai Emery does will be determined by the ability of new strikers Roberto Soldado and Aritz Aduriz to replace Spain internationals David Villa and David Silva, who have moved to Barcelona and Manchester City.

Carlos Marchena has also moved on, but Ricardo Costa looks to be a solid replacement in defense. A poor start could see Emery put under early pressure.

Sevilla's season depends on the continued form of strikers Freddy Kanoute and Luis Fabiano and winger Jesus Navas.

If Kanoute continues to struggle with injuries while his Brazilian strike partner focuses more on a lucrative transfer at the end of the season, Sevilla could struggle. That is bad news for coach Alvaro Alcaraz, given that club president Jose Maria del Nido is not a patient man.

Atletico Madrid looks to have bought well to tighten up in defense with the arrivals of Godin and Felipe Luis. Meanwhile the return of Thiago Cardoso on loan and the signing of Fran Merida should give Quique Sanchez Flores' side creativity in midfield.

Perhaps just as important is the fact that the club has retained the services of star strikers Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan, which means Atletico should be candidates for a top four finish.

Elsewhere a Villarreal side based on the exciting players from its youth system could also mount a top four challenge, while Athletic Club Bilbao will be hoping to continue its improvements under coach Joaquin Caparros.

Athletic has several exciting young players such as Mikel san Jose and Markel Susaeta, while Spain internationals Fernando Llorente and Javi Martinez will be vital for any top six challenge.

Mallorca and Getafe finished fifth and sixth last season, but their squads look to be weaker this time around.

Economic problems saw Mallorca kicked out of Europe and new coach Michael Laudrup will do well to fashion a competitive side following the departure of nearly all of his best players. Indeed Mallorca kicks off the season among the favorites for relegation.

Getafe meanwhile have added Adrian Colunga to their squad, but Colunga will do well to score as many goals as the departed Soldado.

It is no exaggeration to say that virtually every other team in the league is a candidate to relegation -- sides such as Sporting Gijon, Osasuna, Espanyol and Zaragoza will look to their home form and passionate support to keep them up and all four should be good enough to avoid the drop.

The newly promoted teams, Real Sociedad, Levante and Hercules could all struggle and Hercules especially will be under the spotlight after match-fixing allegations were left hanging in the air after a judge refused to make incriminating evidence available to the Spanish FA.

Racing Santander can expect a difficult season after losing Canales to Madrid, while the writing is on the wall for a Deportivo la Coruna team that struggles to score goals and which suffered a dreadful second half to last year.

Malaga has appointed the experienced Jesualdo Ferreira and made over seven signings in an attempt to avoid last season's suffering, while Almeria should have just enough to ensure finishing above the bottom three.