Can the promoted sides survive?

You would be forgiven for missing the return of Almeria, Elche and Villarreal to La Liga. In the League's scatter-gun approach to scheduling the fixtures, the three promoted sides were probably little more than an afterthought when their opening matches were arranged for Monday night.

They did indeed return though, but only Villarreal, after one season away from Spain's top flight, did so with a bang. Almeria, who've only been outside the Primera for two seasons, and Elche, who have taken 24 years to get back to the top table, will have to wait for their first points.

Anticipated most highly was the resurfacing of the Yellow Submarine, and they've announced their arrival back in La Liga by making themselves one of the League's big spenders – relatively speaking. Giovani dos Santos and Tomas Pina ditched relegated Mallorca for mainland Spain, Marcelino dishing out nearly €10m for the pair, while others have arrived for small transfer fees too.

Three points arrived late on, as Monday threatened to turn in to Tuesday, away against Almeria in Week 1, and it wouldn't be foolish to suggest they will pick up three more when they entertain Real Valladolid this weekend. Dos Santos looks set to be a key creative player, while in Uche, Jony Pereira and Jeremy Perbet they have a set of strikers who could contribute the goals to help Villarreal towards a comfortable season.

Their first victims, Almeria, don't look likely to have it as comfortable. Last season's top scorer Charles was poached by Celta Vigo, although Rodri, a loan signing from Barcelona, provided plenty of encouraging signs with a brace in the defeat to Villarreal. Another youngster, Liverpool's Suso, could also be a source of excitement for the Andalusian club.

Overall though, Francisco's squad seems short of both quality and depth, and, if points aren't forthcoming in their next two matches against Getafe and Elche, they could already find they have a long season ahead.

Up the coast, Elche, who were promoted as champions, have recruited well this summer. The number of new arrivals is into double figures, with Fran Escriba doing well to sign the likes of Ruben Perez, Javi Marquez, Cristian Sapunaru and Manu del Moral. However their lack of someone to put the ball in the net is desperately worrying, considering that goals are the currency for survival. Luckily there is still time for them to act before the transfer window closes, but the options available are extremely limited.

They were comfortably dispatched 3-0 by Rayo Vallecano and face the daunting task of a visit from Real Sociedad this weekend.

Luckily for the newcomers there are other teams who possess similar problems. Osasuna, like Elche, don't look like scoring many goals, Levante lack strength and numbers and a host of other clubs have been stripped bare. Excitement is expected for the promoted sides over the next 10 months, likely of the roller coaster variety, as they battle to retain the status that they've worked so hard to achieve.

La Liga - Club News