Betis seal promotion as two clubs battle for second place

With matchday 40 of the Liga Adelante complete, the destinies of the clubs in the division are starting to be revealed. R. Betis ensured their presence in next season’s Liga BBVA after claiming a 3-0 victory over AD Alcorcón, but there are still two sides battling to secure the final automatic promotion spot.

Girona FC, who are second in the table with 78 points, beat UE Llagostera 1-0 to leave their fellow Catalans out of the race for a play-off place. If Pablo Machín’s men win on matchday 41 and Real Sporting (who are on 76 points) draw or lose, they will mathematically seal promotion to the Liga BBVA – something they have never achieved since they were founded in 1930.

Play-offs starting to take shape

In addition to one of Girona or Sporting, two more clubs have confirmed their place among the quartet that will fight it out in the play-offs. UD Las Palmas and R. Valladolid CF, who sit fourth and fifth respectively, have assured themselves of a top-six finish. Though the Canary Islanders still have a slim chance of claiming automatic promotion, it looks like they will once again seek a spot in the Liga BBVA via the play-offs, where they reached the final last season.

Only one play-off spot is still available, with Zaragoza and Ponferradina tussling for the position.

Just one berth in the play-off positions remains available, and it’s between Real Zaragoza and SD Ponferradina, although of the two los aragoneses are in pole position.With their 1-3 win over Valladolid on matchday 40, Ranko Popović’s side consolidated sixth place with 60 points, while the team from El Bierzo are seventh on 56 thanks to their 1-0 triumph over CD Lugo.

This season’s head-to-head clashes between Zaragoza and José Manuel Díaz’s team have seen los maños come away with the upper hand (4-1 and 2-2), so Ponferradina will need to finish with more points than their rivals if they are to sneak into the battle for the Liga Adelante’s third promotion place, which is held at the end of June.

Racing fighting to the last for survival

While the tussle to go up is red hot, the race to avoid going down is more and more thrilling with every passing matchday. R. Racing C. (41 points), At. Osasuna (41), RC Recreativo (38), CE Sabadell (37) and even FC Barcelona B (36) are out to achieve survival come the end of the season.

Lugo can mathematically secure survival with a draw, while Tenerife will do the same with a win.

The side from Santander saw off CD Numancia 0-2 on the most recent matchday and, as they have the head-to-head edge over Osasuna, climbed out of the drop zone. Los racinguistas and los navarros are the best-placed of the pack to clinch safety on the coming matchdays. Recreativo, meanwhile, are not giving up and picked up all three points for the second league game in a row. To stave off relegation, they must win all of their remaining matches and hope that their direct rivals take no more than four points from their final fixtures.

Finally, Sabadell and FC Barcelona B will have to summon all their pride to win the two games that they have left and wait for the results of their competitors to find out whether they will remain in the Liga Adelante next term. Defeat on the coming matchday would put an end to their hopes of salvation.