Even if it looks like La Liga will be more or less settled heading into the home stretch of the campaign, with the exception of the Europa League and Conference League spots, and perhaps the final relegation spot too, Segunda could not be any further from that. With five games remaining, few teams are either safe, or ruled out of a run into La Liga.
While it might not be the richest game in football, as the Championship dubs their play-off final, for Segunda sides, Playoff Final tickets are much more accessible. At the top of the table, Leganes and Real Valladolid are level on points in the automatic promotion places.
The pair of them have just a three-point cushion to Eibar in third, but should, barring disaster, be safe for at least a shot at promotion. Racing Santander in sixth place, the final play-off spot, are nine points back, albeit Leganes held a similar gap over the chasing pack a couple of months back.
In the play-off race, Espanyol and Elche will still feel they can aspire to an automatic spot too, but arguably as low as 12th-placed Tenerife, six points behind Racing, are in with a shot at a semi-final. Fairytale options ate available in Racing de Ferrol, playing their first season in Segunda for 15 years, and seeking back-to-back promotions, and Burgos. The latter, like the Galicians, have never been in La Liga, and are in just their second ever stint in the second division.
CLASIFICACIÓN | ¡La tabla clasificatoria de #LALIGAHYPERMOTION al término de la Jornada 37!
🥇 Empate en lo más alto entre @CDLeganes y @realvalladolid. pic.twitter.com/bOaqtJnqfw
— LALIGA HYPERMOTION (@LaLiga2) April 29, 2024
Even at the bottom, the entertainment, or if you’re a fan, stress, is likely to be maximised. Four sides will go down, and the one spot below Tenerife in 13th, who are still in the play-off hunt, are Real Zaragoza, just five points above the drop zone.
With 10 teams still in the mire to a degree, even bottom-placed Andorra are only five points from safety too. Both Gerard Pique’s project and Amorebieta looked dead and buried a few weeks ago, but they now have Mirandes, Eldense, Huesca and Albacete sweating. Just a single win from Alcorcon and the teams behind them would see them slip into the relegation places.
Albacete are the oldest club in Spain, and Zaragoza should be OK, but outside of that, it’s largely a battle between minnows and fairytales, not least Amorebieta, who have to use Athletic Club’s training ground for games, as their own ground does not meet the requirements even from Segunda, coming from a town of just 20,000 people. If there’s one certainty to the end of Segunda, it’s drama.
Ngl, pretty intense closing games
More exciting than la liga ahah