Five teams are hoping to avoid two remaining relegation places on the final day of the La Liga season today.
With Atletico Madrid having wrapped up the title yesterday after drawing 1-1 at Barcelona, attention turns to the bottom of the League and it couldn’t be much tighter.
With Real Betis already consigned to the drop, it is anyone’s guess as to who will be joining them. The two teams currently occupying the final relegation sports are Real Valladolid and Osasuna, though Granada, Getafe and Almeria all remain in danger.
The key clash of the day is likely to be the crunch head-to-head encounter between Valladolid and Granada. The Castile and Leon side know they must win to have any hope of staying in Spain’s top flight, while the Andalusians know they will definitely go down should they lose.
Osasuna host already relegated Betis and they too must taste victory. In addition, they need at least one other result involving the teams above them to go in their favour.
Getafe visit Rayo Vallecano and Almeria host Athletic Bilbao with both teams only requiring a point each to ensure their survival. If two or more teams finish the season level on points, the higher team will be decided by the head-to-head record between the sides involved. Should head-to-head be equal, goal difference will be used instead.
All the matches involving the five clubs kick-off at 17.30 BST.
La Liga relegation permutations:
Almeria (15th, 39 points) will definitely stay up if:
– They avoid defeat.
– They lose and at least one of the results involving the other relegation contenders goes their way.
Getafe (16th, 39 points) will definitely stay up if:
– They avoid defeat
– They lose and at least one of the results involving the other relegation contenders goes their way.
Granada (17th, 38 points) will definitely stay up if:
– They avoid defeat, due to a superior head-to-head record against Osasuna
Osasuna (18th, 36 points) will definitely stay up if:
– They defeat Real Betis and one of Granada, Getafe and Almeria lose. In the case of the latter two, they would also need to overturn an inferior goal difference.
Real Valladolid (19th, 36 points) will definitely stay up if:
– They defeat Granada and Osasuna fail to win
– They defeat Granada and at least one of Getafe and Almeria lose
Relegation battle fixtures (All 1700 BST starts):
Almeria – Athletic Bilbao
Osasuna – Real Betis
Rayo Vallecano – Getafe
Real Valladolid – Granada
Head-to-head records:
Valladolid: Better than Getafe. Equal to Almeria. Worse than Osasuna. Granada head-to-head undecided but it will not matter anyhow as the teams cannot finish level on points.
Osasuna: Better than Valladolid. Equal to Getafe and Almeria. Worse than Granada.
Granada: Better than Osasuna. Worse than Almeria and Getafe. Valladolid head-to-head undecided but it will not matter anyhow as the teams cannot finish level on points.
Getafe: Better than Granada. Equal to Osasuna. Worse than Valladolid and Almeria.
Almeria: Better than Getafe and Granada. Equal to Valladolid and Osasuna. Worse than no-one.
