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The final match finished with Real Madrid needing a win to triumph over bitter rivals Barcelona after four years without a trophy - and they managed it with a scintillating second-half comeback.

The big two will be in the Champions League places once again, eurosport.yahoo.com predicts; but there could be a newcomer at the expense of one of the recent challengers.

To see who we reckon will finish in the top four, the UEFA Cup spots - one of them through the Copa del Rey - and the dreaded drop zone, read on:

Champions: Barcelona - Barca could have made it three out of three domestic titles if Madrid had failed to beat Mallorca, but they did not deserve it. The players who swept them to victory before could not find the same form. President Joan Laporta has sensibly opted to keep faith with the club's coach Frank Rijkaard, who has repaid that by attracting men of the calibre of defenders Eric Abidal and Gabi Milito and midfielder Yaya Toure to the Camp Nou - and of course superstar striker Thierry Henry. The Blaugrana also retained three of the other most frightening attackers on the planet in Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi; add to that a pair of exceptional youngsters and quality throughout the squad and you have a mix hotter than a cheerleader's bum. The departures of Javier Saviola, Juliano Belletti and most of all Maxi Lopez will not matter a jot; of the others Ludovic Giuly would no longer get into the side anyway and Giovanni van Bronckhorst was generally understudy to Sylvinho in the last campaign.

Star man: Thierry Henry - following his £16.5 million move from Arsenal, Henry will be devastating from either the left side coming in or the point of the attack when Eto'o disappears for the African Cup of Nations.

Emerging talent: Giovani dos Santos - The 18-year-old impressed during the club's pre-season tour and great things are expected of him. The other prospect, Bojan Krkic, also showed his quality but is less likely to be given game time as he is still 16.

Runners-up: Valencia - Los Che will enjoy a better domestic challenge this time around if they can avoid the injury problems that plagued them last year. Strike star David Villa and Fernando Morientes are joined in attack by huge hit-man Nikola Zigic and with Joaquin, David Silva, Ruben and Vicente providing the ammo, they are capable of scoring many goals. Quique Sanchez Flores has signed young defender Alexis from Getafe and paired him with Real Madrid veteran Ivan Helguera following the departure of Roberto Ayala, which will keep things tight at the Mestalla. We back them to run Barca close, at least up to the final few weeks of the season.

Star man: David Villa - a rampant pocket of energy that delivers goals time and time again for his club.

Emerging talent: Alexis - Real Madrid were more than interested in him but were beaten to the punch despite their proximity to the capital's satellite town and instead paid vastly over the odds for Porto's Pepe. That will prove a mistake.

Third place: Real Madrid - The man who orchestrated a second title for the Castillan giants in two separate seasons, legendary boss Fabio Capello, has been given the boot this summer in favour of previous Getafe coach Bernd Schuster; Madrid again find themselves in disarray coming into a new campaign. Schuster is a canny operator, but his squad is nowhere near as good as Barca's. The acquisitions of Gabriel Heinze, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben add style alongside new boys Royston Drenthe, Christoph Metzelder and Javier Saviola, while returning Julio Baptista and Roberto Soldado could do a job and Ruud van Nistelrooy is as certain a source of goals as anyone in the world; however, the exit of David Beckham and Roberto Carlos will hurt them, as will the lack of depth now that Ivan Helguera, Reyes, Emerson and Cicinho have moved on. If Metzelder and Robben stay fit they will do well, but if not, third or even fourth place could beckon.

Star man: Ruud van Nistelrooy - Los Merengues will need last season's Pichichi to dig them out of a few holes again this year.

Emerging talent: Royston Drenthe - as tends to be the case at the Santiago Bernabeu these days, they must import their young attacking talent at a fair old price. Drenthe should bring a threat to the left side of the attack.

Fourth place: Atletico Madrid - Yes, we went there. The long-suffering fans at the Vicente Calderon will finally have something to shout about thanks to the creativity of former Osasuna playmaker Raul Garcia, wily wing skills of Luis Garcia and Simao, attacking invention of Jose Antonio Reyes and finishing prowess of Diego Forlan. Many will predict the demise of any threat to the European places after the sale of prodigal son Fernando Torres to Liverpool, but it will prove the making of the Rojiblancos. Sergio Aguero has grown as a player since his move last summer and Maxi Rodriguez is another world class performer, although they will miss Martin Petrov. Their defence is less impressive.

Star man: Maxi - The captain is a big influence on the attacking intentions of Atleti and they are poorer for his absence from the line-up.

Emerging talent: Sergio Aguero - The year of the 'Kun': expect great things in front of goal for the young Argentina star as he links up with another nippy skilful striker in Forlan.

In the UEFA Cup mix - Sevilla, Zaragoza, Osasuna.

Relegated - Real Murcia, Almeria, Levante.

Follow all the action from the big kick off this weekend right here on eurosport.yahoo.com, starting with LIVE text commentary on the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico at the Bernabeu from 18:00 BST!

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport