La Liga returns tonight with champions Barcelona travelling to Athletic Bilbao.

Barca are looking to win their ninth league title in the last 12 years and are odds-on favourites to do so having added Antoine Griezmann to their ranks in the summer.

However, it’s highly unlikely they will stroll to glory by 11 points like they did last season.

That’s because Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will be far stronger opponents this time around.

Real Madrid have added Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo to their squad and Zinedine Zidane will be looking to emulate his 2016/17 La Liga success.

As for Atleti, they’ve signed wonderkid Joao Felix, Marcos Llorente, Mario Hermoso, Kieran Tripper, Felipe and Renan Lodi.

As a result, we’ve decided to look at the strongest possible XIs that Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid could field this season if everyone was fit.

Of course, the Spanish transfer window doesn’t shut until September 2 so there could still be some more arrivals.

But ahead of tonight’s La Liga opener, GiveMeSport have decided to look at how the top-three could line-up:

Barcelona's strongest XI

Real Madrid's strongest XI

Atletico Madrid's strongest XI

A three-horse race in La Liga this season? It could well be.

NEYMAR IN LA LIGA?

Of course, a lot could depend on whether Real Madrid or Barcelona can secure the sensational signing of Neymar before the end of the window.

It's been reported that both La Liga giants have had bids rejected for the Paris Saint-Germain star as they attempt to offer the French club players in return, rather than a world-record fee for the Brazilian.

There's an argument that whichever club ends up with Neymar could be worse off as the 27-year-old comes with plenty of baggage.

But adding the quality of a Neymar to either of those XIs would be a formidable prospect.