A very long League, which will start in the heat of the heat and will end on June 4, lived its draw this Thursday. Capricious, with a stoppage forced by the World Cup and with a Barcelona derby at the Camp Nou that will be played on a day scheduled for December 31, the first after the end of the Qatar team appointment.
The championship, which will have three Catalan teams after the promotion of Girona, will start for Barcelona in its stadium against Rayo Vallecano. Easy? Theoretically, yes, but the Madrid team stole all six points from Barça last season, caused the dismissal of Ronald Koeman and also won on Barça ground... Meanwhile, Espanyol will debut in Vigo after asking to start away to condition the Cornellà lawn. Girona will return to Primera with an always difficult visit to Mestalla.
The champion, Real Madrid, will debut against another recently promoted team, such as Almería, and will then visit Vigo and Cornellà, where Espanyol will await them on matchday three. As happened the previous year, Madrid asked to start the tournament with three games away from home to finish their work at the Bernabeu.
The start for Barcelona presents poisoned darts such as the complicated visits to San Sebastián and Pizjuán on days two and four and a trip to Cádiz on five. In the old Ramón de Carranza he tied last year and lost the previous one.
As for the classics, contrary to what has been usual in recent seasons, the first will be played at the Bernabeu. It will be October 16. The Camp Nou is set for March 19.
As for the Catalan derbies, the most special will be New Year's Eve at the Camp Nou between Barça and Espanyol. Not all the matches of that day will be played on December 31, but it would be logical that the matches with geographically close teams would do so on that day.
The competition will then resume after being stopped since November 9. From November 21 to December 18, the World Cup in Qatar is held. For the first time in history, the main leagues will be fallow for more than a month and a half. We will have to see how that affects the development of the championships. The Barcelona fans will pay a visit to Cornellà on May 14. Espanyol will receive Girona on January 8 and will go to Montilivi on April 2. A week later, the people from Girona will travel to the Camp Nou. Girona-Barça will close the first round on January 29.
On the last day, Barcelona will finish where Espanyol will start, that is, in Balaídos. The blue and white team will lower the curtain at home against Almería de Rubi and Girona in Pamplona. Madrid will do it at the Bernabeu against Athletic. It will be June 4. A week before, the whites will play at Pizjuán. A ballot if the title is still up for grabs. Between August 14 and June 4, almost ten months will have passed, with a tough World Cup in between. The leagues enter this season in an unknown dimension.
Check the calendar for LaLiga Santander 2022/23
