La Liga: Barcelona and Real Madrid set to kick off new season

La Liga: Barcelona and Real Madrid set to kick off new season Barcelona start the defence of their La Liga title on Sunday at Athletic Bilbao, the team who thrashed them 5-1 on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup. Luis Enrique's squad appears weaker than last season's Treble-winning selection, with Pedro and Xavi leaving. Summer signings Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal cannot play until January because of a transfer ban. Real Madrid begin their season under new boss Rafael Benitez with a match away to newly promoted Sporting Gijon. They sacked Carlo Ancelotti after finishing two points behind Barca and exiting in the Champions League semi-final. Benitez's major outfield signings have been right-back Danilo from Porto and midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Inter Milan. The BBC Sport website and app will continue to have live text commentaries on major La Liga matches this season, starting with Atletico Madrid v Las Palmas (19:30 KO on Saturday). collect by...http://www.bbc.com