La Liga's 2026-27 Season Opens Without Barcelona, Madrid

The giants arrive later

Real Madrid are scheduled to begin away to Espanyol on August 22. Barcelona start their title defence a day later, away to Elche on August 23.

That leaves other clubs with the opening weekend to make an early impression before the title favourites enter the schedule. But with both leading contenders missing from the first round, the initial table will offer little direct evidence about how the championship rivalry is taking shape.

Opening-round fixtures

Times below are listed in Indian Standard Time (IST):

• Alavés vs Getafe - August 15, 11 p.m.
• Sevilla vs Rayo Vallecano - August 16, 1 a.m.
• Racing Santander vs Villarreal and Espanyol vs Levante - later on August 16.
• Celta Vigo vs Osasuna - postponed because of pitch conditions; rescheduled for August 27, at midnight IST as the date turns to August 28.

The Celta-Osasuna postponement adds another wrinkle to a round already missing Barcelona and Real Madrid. It also means the opening schedule will take longer to settle than usual, while the delayed fixtures give the two title contenders extra time before their first league tests.

The next storyline to watch is how the early table looks once Madrid visit Espanyol and Barcelona travel to Elche. Celta Vigo and Osasuna, meanwhile, will have to wait until their rearranged meeting to complete their opening-round assignment.