Kelvin Leong previews the upcoming La Liga season which will see some of the world's biggest stars slug it out on Spanish soil.

The two traditional Spanish powerhouses, Barcelona and Real Madrid, will once again lock horns and provide a one-two finish.

Madrid who now has Florentino Perez back at the helm, has rolled back the years to reuse the winning formula of signing renowned big names in their bid to wrestle the title away from reigning champions, Barca.

Two Ballon D'or winners, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, will be the focal points for Madrid while Karim Benzema is the marquee striker brought in to emulate the success of the legendary Brazilian, Ronaldo.

At the back, Valencia's Raul Albiol has been brought in to provide some much needed stability alongside Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Marcelo.

As for the Catalans, they have not rested on their laurels of the 2008/09 season as they pulled off one of the biggest summer coups in securing Zlatan Ibrahimovic's signature from Internazionale, with Samuel Eto'o moving in the opposite direction.

 Atletico Madrid will head into another season, hoping to break Barca and Madrid's domination, but all will depend on whether Diego Forlan and Sergio ‘Kun' Aguero can continue their rich vein of goalscoring form from last season.

Villarreal or better known as the ‘Yellow Submarines', enter the new season having lost a vital cog in their machinery, coach Manuel Pellegrini.

Pellegrini signed up for Perez's ‘Galacticos Project' but his blueprint of stylish attacking football, will continue to shine at the El Madrigal through the likes of Italian pocket-dynamo, Giuseppe Rossi and Santi Cazorla.

Valencia and Sevilla are the two clubs who could be potential darkhorses in the race for a Champions League spot with neither side losing their star players this summer.

David Villa, Juan Mata and David Silva have chosen to remain at the Estadio Mestella while Freddy Kanoute and Fabiano will continue to spearhead a lethal Seville attack with Diego Capel providing the bullets.

Further down the table, Tenerife, Xerez and Real Zaragoza, were promoted from the Segunda division and all three will be keen to prove that they deserve their place in the top flight.

Zaragoza, will be the most eager one of them all, as the fallen giant of Spanish football will be seeking redemption as they hope to repay their loyal fans for the support they got even when they were in the unfashionable Segunda division.

Argentine defenders, Roberto Ayala and Carlos Diogo will have to be at their defensive best while the likes of Leonardo Ponzio, Francesco Matuzalem and Ikechukwu Uche go on the offensive in search of goals for Zaragoza.

Seasoned mid-table campaigners, Osasuna, Malaga, Racing Santander, Deportivo La Coruna and Espanyol are probably readying themselves for another tough season with survival being priority and a Europa Cup spot an added bonus if it comes along.

 Espanyol look the most likely of the six clubs to make a strong impression after adding Japanese midfield wizard, Shunsuke Nakamura to their already talented squad consiting of Ivan De La Pena and Luis Garcia.

Valladolid, Mallorca, Almeria, Sporting Gijon and Athletic Bilbao could be in for a rough season as the clubs have seen a whole slew of marquee players depart.

Mallorca's talented Venezuelan, Juan Arango, has left the club while Almeria's star striker, Alvaro Negredo, has rejoined parent-club, Real Madrid.

Predictions

Champions - Real Madrid

Runners-up - Barcelona

Automatic Champions Leaugue - Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla

Champions League Qualifying - Atletico Madrid

Europa Cup - Valencia and Villarreal

Relegation - Xerez, Sporting Gijon and Valladolid