This year’s preview will be a lot shorter than last season. Only 4 Mexican Internationals will ply their trade in La Liga this season, 3 if Memo never sees the field for Malaga in league play. Gone are Moreno, Aquino, Chicharito, Gio, and Jimenez. So lets keep this short and sweet…
Malaga
Memo Ochoa is has not moved and is still looking to make his debut in La Liga. Kameni struggled down the stretch last year but not enough to pull him. However, all signs point to him being on a short leash this season. Malaga have said no offers for Memo have been received. Will he play this season? Who knows but with Piojo gone, the next coach might not be so quick to play him as Mexico’s #1. Ochoa needs to leave Malaga and get minutes somewhere. Only playing cup minutes is not helping his career.
Kickoff: 8/21/15, Malaga vs Sevilla, 1:30pm (Central) beIN Sports en Español, Sling TV
Real Sociedad
Carlos Vela and Diego Reyes will be first team selections for Real Sociedad, barring any injury problems. For Vela, this has been the case for years. He is currently dealing with a minor knee injury but will be in the starting lineup as soon as he is fit. For Reyes, this will be his first chance to consistently get first team minutes in Europe. It is basically put up or shut up time for Reyes. Porto thinks he has a future there but he will need to develop and produce while on loan. Many still see him as the heir apparent to Rafa Marquez but his Mexico career has been inconsistent thus far. All eyes will be on him this season.
Kickoff: 8/22/15, Real Sociedad vs Deportivo, 11:30am (Central) beIN Sports en Español, Sling TV
Villarreal
There is still one Dos Santos at Villarreal. Following the sales of Gio and Aquino, Jona is the last Mexican left at Villarreal. He will look to build upon a career rejuvenating season that led to him being one of Mexico’s best players at the Gold Cup. Jona was coming back from major knee surgery and was slowly introduced into the squad early on but he gained importance as the season went on. Ultimately, he received 17 league starts last season (28 starts overall). Jona played 1632 La Liga minutes after only 370 the previous 5 seasons at Barcelona. Going forward, he will continue to be an important player at Villarreal. Although minutes at his preferred central midfield position might be less than he hopes for, he should be a fixture in their starting 11.
Kickoff: 8/23/15, Villarreal vs Real Betis, 3:30pm (Central) beIN Sports en Español, Sling TV
How to watch La Liga?
The viewing options are the same as last season. The only change is the name of the internet-only service. It went from DishWorld to Sling TV but service still works well and is $9.99 per month. Go here for a recap of how to watch La Liga in the US. Another recent legal streaming service is Fubo.tv and it carries games from several leagues. The service only debuted earlier this year but reviews are positive.