This previous weekend, Actual Valladolid suffered a devastating 7-1 defeat by the hands of Athletic Membership, which additional laid naked their struggles within the 2024/25 La Liga season. The beating at San Mames was not a one-off humiliation however a stark reflection of Valladolid’s deeper points since their return to the highest flight.
Promoted final season after a single yr within the Segunda Division, Valladolid have discovered the step up in high quality overwhelming. Regardless of having a bigger wage invoice than different La Liga golf equipment equivalent to Rayo Vallecano and Leganes, their recruitment has struggled to construct a squad with sufficient expertise to compete in La Liga. This squad-building has proven up of their numbers, with Valladolid being, by a large margin, the group with the fewest objectives scored (16) and essentially the most objectives conceded (59).
They’ve already sacked two managers (Paulo Pezzolano and Diego Cocca final week), and proper now, youth group supervisor Alvaro Rubio is in cost. As of now, Valladolid look more and more resigned to returning to the second tier, and it is likely to be higher for the membership to start out fascinated by participant and coach recruitment for his or her subsequent season in Segunda .
Whereas Valladolid’s plight appears essentially the most dire, the remainder of La Liga’s relegation contenders nonetheless have loads of room to keep away from relegation. So let’s take a fast have a look at the opposite contenders – Espanyol, Leganes, Las Palmas, Alaves, and Valencia – and what’s working for and towards them because the season progresses.
Espanyol: Enhancing Away from Dwelling 
Espanyol, one other of final season’s promoted sides, have proven flashes of promise that counsel they may escape the drop.
Regardless of being strong sufficient on their residence floor, Espanyol had one of many worst away information within the division, with simply 2 factors out of 33 in away video games earlier than this weekend. Their victory towards Alaves this previous Saturday was their first one of many season, and if Espanyol wish to comfortably keep away from relegation, they should get extra of these.
Their sport plan underneath coach Manolo Gonzalez has been to keep up a really deep defensive block. Based on Understat information, Espanyol enable essentially the most passes per defensive motion within the division, which suggests they’re essentially the most passive defensive block within the league. One would argue this setup of deep block + counter is well-suited for away video games, but it surely appears to have the other impact. Espanyol defend so deeply that they pose no attacking risk to their opponents on their residence grounds.
The opposite argument in Espanyol’s favor is their 23-year-old goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who has constantly bailed out an sometimes shaky Espanyol defence with highlight-reel stops. Espanyol’s current upturn—three wins and two attracts of their final six video games as of late February 2025—is in no small half on account of his saves. Garcia is well essentially the most in-form keeper among the many relegation contenders, which may be the distinction between taking place and staying up.
Leganes: Can Group Compensate for a Lack of Expertise?
Again in La Liga after a four-year absence, Leganes have the smallest income and wage invoice within the competitors. Primarily based on their squad expertise, it was clear from the beginning that Leganes can be combating to keep away from the relegation zone. Regardless of these constraints, Leganes haven’t discovered themselves in relegation spots on the finish of any of the final 25 matchdays.
Coach Borja Jimenez has created a group who’re organized, scrappy, and laborious to interrupt down. In addition they have a low-to-mid defensive block and try and hit opponents on the counter. And in contrast to Espanyol, that plan has allowed them to get loads of attracts in away video games and a few shock wins towards massive opponents. This consists of their defeat of Barcelona at Montjuic, their attract San Mames towards Athletic, and their defeat of Atletico Madrid at residence.
Their lack of high quality within the remaining third is a obvious downside. Objectives have been laborious to come back by (third-worst assault within the league with 22 objectives), and their reliance on defensive solidity leaves little margin for error. They don’t have a person, equivalent to a goalie or striker in nice kind, who can get them leads to the best way different relegation contenders have. Leganes might want to keep their self-discipline and hope their rivals falter in the event that they’re to safe one other season within the prime flight.
Las Palmas: A Turnaround in Bother
After a tough begin underneath supervisor Luis Carrion, it appeared as if Las Palmas have been on the best way to restoration underneath new supervisor Diego Martinez. Martinez was much less fascinated with having possession and controlling video games with the ball than his predecessor. And for a second, this appeared to be precisely what they wanted. From the second Martinez took over (the sport towards Valencia on October twenty first) till the tip of the calendar yr, Las Palmas had collected six wins, one draw, and simply two losses in 9 La Liga video games. Even a cushty mid-table end was seen as doable now.
Nevertheless, it appears the brand new yr has dissipated the impact of the new-manager bump. In 2025, Las Palmas have misplaced each match aside from a draw at residence towards Osasuna. Their momentum has stalled, and their dip in kind has dragged them again into hazard.
The , because the group captain introduced in early February 2025 that he would step away from soccer indefinitely to bear chemotherapy following a relapse of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His management and midfield presence, evident in his participation in 21 of twenty-two La Liga matches this season earlier than his prognosis, have left a void that the struggling aspect should now navigate of their battle towards relegation. The current damage to Fabio Silva, one among their key strikers this season alongside Sandro Ramirez, hasn’t helped both.
Regardless of the comparatively good type of goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen in addition to the strikers, the priority is that Las Palmas’ protection remains to be too constantly leaky and error-prone to carry out within the relegation race. Martinez will want additional defensive enhancements if he needs his group to outlive.
Alaves: Fading Early Promise
Deportivo Alaves burst out of the gates this season, their physicality and direct type shining underneath Luis Garcia Plaza. Nevertheless, that wouldn’t final lengthy.
Plaza was sacked as head coach on the second of December, after a string of poor outcomes (one win, one draw, and 7 losses of their final 9 league matches) that noticed the group slide dangerously near the La Liga relegation zone. On the time of his dismissal, Alaves sat sixteenth within the desk, just one level above the drop zone. The membership’s administration, regardless of García Plaza by no means having been within the relegation locations throughout the 2024/25 season and having just lately signed a contract extension by means of 2026, opted for a change to “give an impulse to the group,” as said by membership president Alfonso Fernandez de Troconiz.
Many seen the transfer as harsh, given Plaza’s wonderful monitor document. He led Alaves to promotion from the Segunda División in 2022 by way of the playoffs and secured a Tenth-place end in La Liga the next season. He was , in a bid to show the group’s fortunes round.
Sadly, Coudet has not been in a position to flip the fortunes round, and Alaves discover themselves now in 18th spot. In Coudet’s defence, the group appears a bit stronger collectively than it did on the finish of Plaza’s reign, which is mirrored of their underlying numbers. Luck shouldn’t be on their aspect, nevertheless, and so they’ve had a number of video games at residence – Girona, Celta, and Espanyol – the place they dominated and created sufficient to win the sport however couldn’t end the job.
And this goes again to their massive challenge: apart from striker Kike Garcia being in nice scoring kind, Alaves don’t have any different people who can carry the group by means of this run. Antonio Sivera is a mean shot-stopper, and the double pivot of Antonio Blanco and Ander Guevara shouldn’t be performing in addition to final yr, to the purpose Guevara has been dropped within the final couple of video games.
Valencia: The Wounded Large
Ruben Baraja’s sacking from Valencia and the following hiring of Carlos Corberan marked an intriguing shift for the membership underneath Peter Lim’s possession. Baraja, a Valencia legend as a participant, was dismissed on the twenty third of December, after a dismal run that left the group nineteenth in La Liga with simply two wins from 17 matches. Followers had grown stressed, and the strain on Lim, lengthy criticised for treating the membership as a enterprise fairly than a footballing establishment, intensified. Baraja’s exit,, was a reluctant however inevitable name as Valencia hovered 4 factors from security, with the spectre of relegation – their first since 1986 – looming giant.
Enter Corberan, a 41-year-old Valencian who’d been making waves at West Bromwich Albion in England’s Championship. His appointment, confirmed on Christmas day, with a contract till 2027, was an uncommon flex for Lim’s Valencia, a membership not sometimes related to splashing money on managerial modifications. Valencia paid round €2.4 million to set off Corberan’s launch clause, bringing the overall price of the transition to roughly €7.4 million. What raised eyebrows even additional was the selection of Corberan himself: a comparatively untested coach on the elite stage, but one with a glowing popularity from stints underneath Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds and a playoff push with Huddersfield. His tactical acumen and flexibility supplied hope, however hiring somebody with out top-flight expertise to rescue a sinking large was a big gamble.
And to date, the gamble appears to be working effectively sufficient. Corberan’s Valencia are extra compact and strong defensively than Baraja’s, and so they have been in a position to grind out good outcomes. They’ve defeated Actual Sociedad, Celta, and Leganes at residence, drawn towards Sevilla and Villarreal away, and have solely misplaced towards the Spanish prime three (Actual Madrid, Atletico, and Barca). In different phrases, Corberan’s Valencia have received the video games they’re purported to win (vs. lower-half groups at residence) and have gotten first rate outcomes towards some top-half groups. Their underlying numbers again up their outcomes.
Out of all of the relegation contenders, Valencia appear to be in the most effective run of kind as of the tip of February. And one may argue they’ve the strongest, deepest squad out of the relegation contenders. If Valencia proceed this run of kind, they may keep away from relegation, maybe even comfortably; lots can nonetheless occur within the subsequent three months.
What goes towards Valencia is that goalie Giorgi Mamardashvili appears to have his head extra in Liverpool than Valencia in the intervening time. His kind this season has been a far cry from final season, the place he was arguably essentially the most decisive shot-stopper within the match. A great Mamardashvili can be an important enhance for Valencia’s possibilities within the relegation race.
The Highway Forward
With Valladolid virtually written off, the race to keep away from the remaining two relegation spots is broad open. Alaves and Valencia have, for my part, essentially the most gifted squads amongst these relegation contenders, but they’re presently in relegation spots. Nevertheless, Valencia appear to have a extra strong group id now and are effectively positioned to get out of relegation spots.
In the meantime, Espanyol and Leganes may need much less expertise, however they’ve clear defensive plans that enable them to grind video games out, with Espanyol getting an additional enhance as a result of wonderful performances of Joan Garcia. Maybe Las Palmas are the group with essentially the most uncertainties out of those 5. They don’t have a transparent group id but, and it’s not clear the squad is gifted sufficient to compensate for that. They’re, to me, the clearest relegation candidate.
Because the season nears its essential remaining months, direct clashes between these groups will show decisive. One factor is definite: in 24/25, the relegation scrap guarantees a very good little bit of drama till the very finish.
José C. Pérez may be discovered on social media , and if you happen to’re hungry for extra, discover their wonderful work .
