La Liga and the fight for survival

With the return of La Liga, the tension has begun to build at the bottom of the table as just six points separate rock bottom from 17th. Here we take a look at the relegation battlers and their prospective chances of staying up.

Bottom club Español face the biggest uphill task of all as there is a large gap separating them from safety.

They have been La Liga mainstays ever since the 1994/95 season and are a shock presence propping up the table. Their fall from grace is especially surprising as just last season Español finished 7th in La Liga (their best league position since the 2004/05 season).

Perhaps the rigours of Europa League football this season have caused their domestic collapse or even more plausibly the loss of their star striker Borja Iglesias, who had scored 20 league goals.

Following the prolonged enforced break, however, and with no more European football to act as a distraction, the club will hope they can rediscover last season’s form and put together a great escape.

Leganes sit above Español and have quite a bit more experience of relegation battles having finished 17th in consecutive seasons in 2016/17 and 2017/18. Indeed those seasons were the first in Leganes history in the top tier of Spanish football.

They will need to defy expectations yet again as they currently sit as 4/9 to be relegated in Spanish La Liga betting at Paddy Power. Unburdened by a ‘too big to go down’ reputation or unreasonable expectations, Leganes must hope to recreate the grit and determination which was fundamental to their relegation escapes in previous seasons.

Mallorca are in danger in their first season back in the top division. The club achieved back-to-back promotions to seal their return to La Liga this season and would see avoiding relegation as a huge achievement considering the rapid pace of their progression.

Mallorca only finished 5th in the second tier last season and relied on overturning a 2-0 first leg play-off deficit against Deportivo, as hometown boy and celebrity fan Rafa Nadal watched on, to seal their return to the biggest domestic stage. The same sense of fight and a never-say-die attitude will be key if Mallorca are to survive as the season reaches its climax.

Celta Vigo stand on the precipice of relegation and cannot afford a poor run of form. Before the enforced break, however, the club did put together a run of 5 league games unbeaten and will hope that they will be able to carry that momentum over when the season returns.

The run included victory over 3rd-placed Sevilla and a very creditable draw away at Real Madrid, but it will be in the so-called relegation ‘6-pointers’ that the team will really need to step up. Predictions for La Liga and its outcomes will rely on the form book and the momentum of teams like Celta Vigo. A fixture against Mallorca awaits and intriguingly their final day fixture is against Español; fans may be in for a dramatic conclusion.

Eibar and Valladolid may also be dragged into the relegation dogfight as they have little room for comfort. Twists and turns must be expected and it is clear that the fight at the bottom of the La Liga table is going to become fierce as the season draws in.