With the return of La Liga this weekend, I look at the season ahead for two of last season’s top three, who both begin their league campaigns tonight – Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

Atletico Madrid

Ganar, ganar, y volver a ganar – win, win and win again. This was former Atletico manager Luis Aragones’ most-used phrase during his time as the club’s boss. And this is exactly what Los Rojiblancos did last season. Beating every team that they came up against at least once, Simeone’s men ended Real Madrid and Barcelona’s hegemony of Spanish football as they won their first league title in eighteen years. Losing out to their cross-city rivals Real in the Champions League final must have been a bitter pill to swallow, but in reaching the showpiece event in Lisbon, Atletico showed they have the firepower and resilience to battle it out with Europe’s elite.

Three of the team’s most outstanding performers last campaign – Thibaut Courtois, Filipe Luis and Diego Costa – have departed to join Chelsea, a team they sent crashing out of the Champions League in April. Diego Simeone has acted astutely to replace the trio. Slovenian stopper Jan Oblak, Europa league runner- up with Benfica last season, and Ex-Getafe goalkeeper Moya will provide healthy competition between the sticks. £8m left-back Guilherme Siquiera joins from Granada. He has proven himself a reliable defensive outlet after being inhibited by disciplinary problems earlier on in his career.

The signing of colossal Croatian centre-forward Mario Mandzukic demonstrates that Atletico are now able to compete with the top teams in the transfer market. Mandzukic was heavily linked with Real Madrid, as well as Arsenal and Chelsea, and is a more than adequate replacement for street fighter Diego Costa. A hustling, bustling sort of player, his incredible work-rate and admirable defensive contribution means the £18m acquisition from Bayern Munich will slot perfectly into Simeone’s first-team plans. The Croat exhibited his predatory instincts in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Tuesday, firing in the only goal of the game after just eighty-one seconds – Atletico winning the Cup 2-1 on aggregate. Two games played, one trophy secured already. Diego who?

Spain’s all-time top goalscorer David Villa could have easily lasted one more season in a top European league, but decided to join exciting new MLS franchise New York City. He has lost some pace but remains a brilliant footballer, and his thirteen La Liga goals for Atletico last season were vital in their quest for the title. To compensate for this loss, the fresh-faced Frenchman Antoine Griezmann has been brought in. The 23-year old’s pace and guile provides Atletico with an alternative attacking option. Tricky and difficult to dispossess, he will aim to enhance his reputation by proving himself in the Champions League for Los Colchoneros.

Argentinian defender Cristian Ansaldi arrives on loan from Zenit Saint Petersburg and provides excellent cover in both full back positions. Another handy addition to the squad is six foot three Mexican forward Raul Jimenez. He predominantly plays as a second striker and is a general nuisance for defenders to deal with. Jimenez will be hoping to build up a good understanding with Gabi and Koke – the Spanish duo are one of Europe’s most enviable centre midfield partnerships. If the linchpins of Simeone’s side stay fit for most of the upcoming campaign, expect Madrid’s ‘second team’ to challenge on all fronts again.

Real Madrid

La Decima. The two words that had been on every Madridista’s lips for over a decade took on added significance after Los Blancos blew away Bayern Munich in their own back yard in April. The longing for their tenth European Cup had become an obsession. They simply had to win in Lisbon. Seconds away from the nightmare of conceding the prize to their eternal rivals Atletico, Sergio Ramos conjured up a last-minute equalizer and Real went on to triumph in extra time. Manager Carlo Ancelotti claims that the team will now play with less pressure after their historic victory. Naturally, this means expectant fans are already dreaming about winning La Undecima – the eleventh European Cup. Can Real Madrid become the first team to win the Champions League in consecutive seasons?

The return of the Galacticos policy means that as well as selling millions of shirts, Real also scored quite a few goals last season. The famed trident labelled as the ‘BBC’ – Benzema, Bale and Cristiano – plundered ninety-seven strikes between them in all competitions last campaign. But there is still room for improvement. Real choked during the business end of the league, as they won just one of their last four games. Furthermore, they hardly set the world alight during their Spanish Supercup meetings with Atletico last week. Despite enjoying highly impressive seasons last time out, Benzema and Bale will need to contribute even more in the way of goals and assists this campaign, in order to ease the burden on superstar Ronaldo.

Keeping the ‘BBC’ and James Rodriguez happy is going to be difficult. Will using the Colombian as a number ten behind the aforementioned attacking trio make Los Merengues too top-heavy? Is it sensible to replace Angel Di Maria, one of the team’s best performers last season, with a £63m man who is lacking in Champions League experience and far from the finished product? James and his giant fee appear to pose more questions than answers.

However, it is hard to argue against another one of the players that the club snapped up after a sensational showing at the World Cup – Toni Kroos – being the bargain buy of the summer. A vital cog in Germany’s slick machine in Brazil, the £20m midfielder possesses unrelenting stamina and formidable passing ability. Real struggled against teams which suffocated their midfield and played a high pressing game last season, and Kroos’ intelligence on the ball will allow them to dictate the tempo against such sides to a better degree.

The goalkeeping debate at the club rages on. Ancelotti’s first choice keeper in the league last season, Diego Lopez, completed a transfer to AC Milan just under two weeks ago. In 2013 Lopez was brought in as a short-term replacement for Iker Casillas, who had suffered a serious injury. Even once Casillas had returned to full fitness, Lopez retained the number one spot. Cue a hoo-hah amongst media and fans, who felt that the manager at the time, Jose Mourinho, had committed injustice by benching one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the club – not to mention a loyal servant who joined Real Madrid at the age of nine.

Mourinho was replaced by Ancelotti at the start of last season, but Casillas was only used in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. As if things couldn’t get any worse for ‘Saint Ike’r (as he is known amongst the Bernabeu faithful) he hit the nadir of his illustrious career during this summer’s World Cup. Standing disconsolate after Spain’s early elimination from the tournament against Chile, the 33-year old looked like a drowned rat. He was at fault for at least three of the seven goals that his nation conceded in their first two group games. In contrast, Keylor Navas, who was recently snapped up by Real from Levante for £10 million, was possibly the most impressive custodian of the World Cup. His Costa Rica team exceeded all expectations by topping the ‘group of death’ and going on to reach the quarter finals – Navas keeping three clean sheets and winning three Man of the Match Awards along the way. Nevertheless, Ancelotti preferred Casillas over Navas in the European Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup games in the last fortnight. Some have suggested the Italian manager is finally caving in to pressure from the media and those inside the club to re-instate the Spaniard as Real’s first choice. Whatever the case, the competition for Los Blancos’ number one spot is bound to create a fascinating sub-plot as the soap opera that is Galacticos part II enters its sixth season.