Betis, hot on the heels of Las Palmas

D. Alavés – CD Leganés (Mendizorroza, 4pm)

Alavés head into this fixture with lifted spirits following the valuable point they pick up against UD Las Palmas (1-1), although they have gone four matchdays without a win. Up against them is a Leganés team that, despite losing their last outing 2-0 to Real Zaragoza, have adjusted excellently to life in the Liga Adelante. The Mendizorroza showdown will be a great opportunity to move away from the drop zone and towards midtable safety.

"We can’t wait for this match. We’re at home and want to win", declared Alberto López, the Alavés manager. His counterpart in the Leganés dugout, Asier Garitano, stated that the Madrid side will be looking to "improve" on every aspect of play from their first half of the season, "especially away from home".

Real Betis – CE Sabadell (Estadio Benito Villamarín, 6pm)

An equally important game for both teams, albeit for very different reasons. The Andalusians are just three points off first place, a position currently occupied by Las Palmas, and will be aiming to put pressure on the Canary Islanders with another victory. Meanwhile, the Catalans are in need of a win to climb out of the relegation zone.

Betis manager Pepe Mel is not convinced by what the league table says: "Sabadell have gone three matches without losing, they’ve changed their manager and way of playing, they’ve rediscovered their good form and are not as bad as the table makes them out to be. We need a similar performance to the Tenerife game". The away team coach, Álex García, stated that Sabadell are not going to "lay down for anyone " despite admitting that this will be a "tough game".

R. Zaragoza – RC Recreativo (Estadio de La Romareda, 6:15pm)

Another game involving two teams with drastically different objectives. After beating Leganés, Zaragoza will now be looking to continue clocking up points in order to reach the play-off spots as soon as possible. The Huelva team, on the other hand, dropped into the relegation zone after their defeat to FC Barcelona B and need a victory to lift their spirits and to gain a bit of breathing space.

The Aragon outfit will be without Rubén González and Eldin Hadžić, who are both injured, while Ángel Montoro (suspended), Javier Cabrera, Álvaro Antón and Braulio Nóbrega (injured) will be unavailable for Recreativo.

CD Tenerife – SD Ponferradina (Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López, 8pm)

The Canary Islanders, who closed out the first half of the season with a scoreless draw against CD Numancia, will be aiming to get back to winning ways in front of their home fans. Their opponents, Ponferradina, want to hold onto sixth place and keep their promotion campaign on track for next season.

The home side will be without the Raúl Cámara, who is suspended for this match, while the Castile and León team will be missing Yuri de Souza and Lucas Domínguez, who are also carrying suspensions.