Pure competitiveness at the top of the table
Sitting at the very top of the table are Levante UD, who have claimed first place after a 2-1 victory at SD Huesca in Matchday 31. They’re now onto 56 points, but they’re exactly level on points with second-placed Real Racing Club, after the Santander side defeated CD Tenerife 2-1 last time out. CD Mirandés, who could only draw 2-2 with CD Eldense, have fallen from top spot and out of the automatic promotion spots altogether, as they’re now third on 55 points. With Elche CF on 54 points in fourth, and SD Huesca and Real Oviedo level on 51 points in fifth and sixth, it really is a thrilling promotion battle.
In other words, there is no clear dominant force at the top of Spain’s second division, a sign of just how competitive this league has been. At this point, seven different teams have occupied first place at some point, the second-most in the last decade, only surpassed by the 11 different leaders of the wild 2017/18 campaign. Real Racing Club have held the lead the longest, for 17 matchdays, followed by the four matchdays of UD Almería, who are now seventh, the three matchdays of Real Zaragoza, who have fallen down to 18th, and the three matchdays of current leaders Levante UD. As for the other clubs who have been leader so far, CD Mirandés have topped the table for two weeks, while Elche CF and SD Huesca have done so once.
A hotly contested mid-table
Looking at the middle of the table, there are many teams who have competed well this season but who need an extra push in the final weeks if they’re to achieve their objectives. UD Almería stand out, as a team that has led the table at one point and a team that has scored the most goals of anyone, with 54. Granada CF, another team looking for a bounce-back promotion, have also been inconsistent, but both maintain hopes of reaching the playoffs. As for Cádiz CF and Córdoba CF, they’re both comfortable in ninth and 10th position, and have had great moments this term, but they too require a little more consistency if they’re to reach the playoffs.
After those four Andalusian clubs, who sit in a row from seventh to 10th in the table, there is a group of seven clubs separated by just three points: Burgos CF, RC Deportivo, Real Sporting, SD Eibar, CD Castellón, Albacete Balompié and Málaga CF. They’re all looking ahead at a possible run to the promotion playoffs, but also behind and over their shoulders towards the relegation zone. Even for 11th-placed Burgos CF, on 42 points, the difference to the relegation zone is just seven points.
The situation in the relegation battle
As for the situation at the very bottom of the table, FC Cartagena with just 15 points are rock bottom and very far adrift, which makes sense when considering they’ve conceded a league-high 56 goals. But, above them, the other three teams currently inside the relegation zone - CD Eldense (35 points), Racing Club Ferrol (23 points) and CD Tenerife (22 points) – still have hope. The team they’re chasing is Real Zaragoza, who sit 18th for a reason, because they’ve won just two of their past 18 matches. They’re just one point ahead of CD Eldense as things stand.
The most eye-catching stats in LALIGA HYPERMOTION
On a statistical level, there are several eye-catching numbers from the matches played so far this term. It’s UD Almería’s Luis Suárez who leads the second division’s goalscoring charts with 21 goals already, while Andrés Martín of Real Racing Club has a league-high 11 assists.
A total of 341 matches have been played so far and they have produced 833 total goals, working out at an average of 2.44 goals per game. Home teams have won 43 percent of the matches played, with the away side winning 28 percent and 29 percent ending up in draws. It’s clear that playing at home remains an advantage, but it’s also true that anything can happen in this wild division.