La Liga starts on Saturday without Barcelona or Real Madrid
The 2026-27 season opens at Alaves on Saturday with three promoted clubs back in the top flight. The champions and Real Madrid do not play their opening fixture until the last week of August.
Aug 12, 2026
The 2026-27 La Liga season starts at Mendizorrotza on Saturday, when Deportivo Alaves host Getafe. Barcelona and Real Madrid will not be anywhere near it. Neither club plays a league match until 22 August, and neither plays its actual opening fixture until the last days of the month.
The World Cup pushed the big clubs back
Clubs who had players reach the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup were given the option of moving their opening-round fixture, and the ones who took it were Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Club and Real Betis. The reasoning was rest. Anyone playing into the last week of a summer World Cup was never going to get the break the calendar is supposed to guarantee before club football starts again.
So the first round is now spread across nearly a fortnight. Atletico Madrid host Malaga on Wednesday 19 August. Valencia play Betis on Tuesday 25 August, Real Madrid host Real Sociedad on Wednesday 26 August, and Barcelona close the round against Athletic Club on Thursday 27 August. Each of those four kicks off at 12.30am IST the following morning.
Both of the big two will have played a league match before their own opener comes round. Real Madrid start at Espanyol on Saturday 22 August, Barcelona at Elche the day after, and both of those are second-round fixtures. It is a strange way to begin a title defence, and Barcelona are the ones defending.
Three clubs come up, and all three used to matter
Racing Santander, Deportivo La Coruna and Malaga are the promoted sides. None of them is new to this. Deportivo won the Spanish title in 2000 and are back after eight years away. Malaga reached a Champions League quarter-final in 2013 and have also been gone eight years, returning through the play-offs with a 2-1 win at Almeria in the final. Racing have waited longest of the lot, 14 years since relegation in 2012, and came up as Segunda champions.
The draw has not been kind to any of them. Racing get Villarreal at El Sardinero on Sunday. Deportivo host Elche at the Riazor on Monday to close the weekend out. Malaga’s first game back is away at Atletico.
The opening round, in Indian time
Saturday 15 August brings Alaves against Getafe at 11pm IST, followed by Sevilla against Rayo Vallecano at 1am on Sunday morning.
Sunday 16 August has three. Racing Santander play Villarreal at 8.30pm IST, Espanyol face Levante at 10.30pm, and Celta Vigo meet Osasuna at 1am on Monday.
Monday 17 August closes the weekend with Deportivo against Elche, which starts at 12.30am IST on Tuesday.
That is six matches across three nights, and the two clubs most Indian viewers set an alarm for are in none of them. The promoted sides have the stage to themselves for once.