La Liga predictions: Experts picks for champions and more as Real Madrid look likely to top Barcelona

The 2024-25 La Liga campaign has begun and all signs point to mighty Real Madrid winning it again. How could they not be the ones picked? They won La Liga and the Champions League last campaign and only boosted their squad, landing a free agent you may have heard of before -- Kylian Mbappe. While Real look like heavy favorites, both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid hope to make some noise and provide stiff comPetition in what should be another entertaining campaign in Spain.

But who will take home the top honors? Check out our expert picks below:

Award	James Benge	Jonathan Johnson	Chuck Booth	Pardeep Cattry	Francesco Porzio
Champions	Real Madrid	Real Madrid	Real Madrid	Real Madrid	Real Madrid
Runners-up	Barcelona	Barcelona	Barcelona	Barcelona	Barcelona
Surprise team	Real Betis	Athletic Club	Real Betis	Real Betis	Mallorca
Player of the season	Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid	Nico Williams, Athletic Club	Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid	Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid	Lamine Yamal, Barcelona
Biggest disappointment	Girona	Atletico Madrid	Girona	Girona	Girona
Top scorer	Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), 25 goals	Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), 24 goals	Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), 24 goals	Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), 23 goals	Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), 21 goals

Why Real Madrid will win La Liga

This season is Real Madrid's to lose with limited comPetition domestically despite Atletico Madrid's recent flurry of activity and Barcelona's strong crop of young talent. Carlo Ancelotti's men adding Kylian Mbappe and Endrick to a squad which already won La Liga and the Champions League last year is a serious flex and it will require major problems with this Blancos side to enable anyone to bridge the gap to them in Spain. – Jonathan Johnson

Back to life, back to reality for Girona

The price of being an unlikely squad to qualify for Champions League is that your players immediately become the targets of top sides around the world. Without the financial muscle to stave off those approaches, squads like this Girona one then fall apart. Artem Dovbyk, Aliex Garcia, Savinho, and Yan Couto have all departed following strong seasons and have been replaced by the likes of Donny Van De Beek and Oriol Romeu. While Girona have been great at finding diamonds in the rough, they'll need Michel to perform magic tricks to keep up in Champions League and La Liga where the lack of depth could see them slide back to being a midtable side. It's tough to be a consistent performer without money, but at least we'll have the memories of Girona pushing Real Madrid for the title from the first half of the 2023-24 season. – Chuck Booth 

Top scorer is an easy choice -- Kylian Mbappe

There's no more obvious candidate than Kylian Mbappe, who is poised to take La Liga – and Europe – by storm once he finally hits the pitch in Real Madrid colors. Though it would not be impossible for someone else to make a run for top scorer honors, it will take a lot for his teaMMAtes and his rivals to surpass him. The big question, then, is not if Mbappe will finish atop La Liga's goalscoring charts, but by how many. – Pardeep Cattry