The 2026/27 LaLiga season begins with two familiar giants at the center of the title race, one superstar positioned to dominate the scoring charts again and one contender carrying enough uncertainty to become the campaign’s biggest disappointment. These are predictions, not certainties, but the evidence from last season and the summer points in clear directions.

Barcelona to win a third straight title

Our pick for champion is Barcelona. Hansi Flick’s team won LaLiga in 2025/26 with 94 points, scored 95 league goals and won all 19 of its home matches. Lamine Yamal was named LaLiga Player of the Season after producing 16 goals and 12 assists, while the core around Pedri, Dani Olmo, Pau Cubarsí and the rest of a young squad remains built for another long title race.

Mbappé to win another Pichichi

The safest individual prediction is Kylian Mbappé finishing as LaLiga’s top scorer again. The French forward won the Pichichi in both of his first two seasons with Real Madrid, scoring 31 league goals in 2024/25 and 25 in 2025/26.

His form has also carried into the international stage. Mbappé scored 10 goals for France at the 2026 World Cup, earning the tournament’s Golden Boot. With Mourinho now in charge and Bernardo Silva adding another creative presence behind the attack, Mbappé should again receive enough chances to lead the scoring race.

Lamine Yamal and Barcelona’s forwards can challenge him, while Julián Álvarez remains another elite scorer at Atlético de Madrid. Still, Mbappé’s combination of volume, consistency and finishing makes him the clearest favorite.

Could Atlético be the biggest disappointment?

Atlético de Madrid is our risky pick for the season’s biggest disappointment — not because it lacks quality, but because expectations remain extremely high.

Diego Simeone still has a talented squad and the club added Alejandro Grimaldo this summer. Yet Atlético enters another campaign under pressure to close the gap to Barcelona and Real Madrid after falling short of the title in recent seasons.

That makes the definition of disappointment important. Atlético does not need to collapse for the prediction to be correct. If it again finishes clearly behind Spain’s two giants despite a squad built to compete at the highest level, the season could feel underwhelming.

The final predictions

The picks are Barcelona for the title, Mbappé for the Pichichi and Atlético de Madrid as the potential disappointment. Barcelona offers the strongest continuity, Mbappé has the most convincing scoring record, and Atlético carries perhaps the widest gap between expectation and possible outcome.

LaLiga rarely follows a script perfectly. But entering 2026/27, those are the three calls that stand out.

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