Guardado was officially introduced on 24 July 2007, with the Spanish team giving him the number 18 shirt. He made his La Liga debut on 26 August in a 0–3 home loss to UD Almería and on 16 September scored his first goal against Real Betis, directly from a throw-in, in which it was described as "karate style", in a 1–0 victory. He finished his first season with 26 games and five goals as "Depor" finished in ninth position, eventually qualifying to the UEFA Intertoto Cup – and the subsequent UEFA Cup, where he scored in a 3–0 group stage home win over Feyenoord; he was voted by fans as the best player.