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 akin 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 staff with the fewest targets scored (16) and essentially the most targets conceded (59).
They’ve already sacked two managers (Paulo Pezzolano and Diego Cocca final week), and proper now, youth staff supervisor Alvaro Rubio is in cost. As of now, Valladolid look more and more resigned to returning to the second tier, and it may be higher for the membership to begin enthusiastic about 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: Bettering Away from Dwelling
Espanyol, one other of final season’s promoted sides, have proven flashes of promise that recommend they might escape the drop.
Regardless of being stable sufficient on their house floor, Espanyol had one of many worst away data 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 need to comfortably keep away from relegation, they must get extra of these.
Their sport plan beneath coach Manolo Gonzalez has been to keep up a really deep defensive block. In line with Understat information, Espanyol permit 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 alternative impact. Espanyol defend so deeply that they pose no attacking risk to their opponents on their house grounds.
The opposite argument in Espanyol’s favor is their 23-year-old goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who has persistently bailed out an often shaky Espanyol defence with highlight-reel stops. Espanyol’s latest upturn—three wins and two attracts of their final six video games as of late February 2025—is in no small half as a result of his saves. Garcia is definitely essentially the most in-form keeper among the many relegation contenders, which might be the distinction between happening 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. Based mostly on their squad expertise, it was clear from the beginning that Leganes could 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 staff who’re organized, scrappy, and arduous to interrupt down. Additionally they have a low-to-mid defensive block and try to 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 large opponents. This contains their defeat of Barcelona at Montjuic, their attract San Mames towards Athletic, and their defeat of Atletico Madrid at house.
Their lack of high quality within the remaining third is a evident downside. Targets have been arduous to return by (third-worst assault within the league with 22 targets), and their reliance on defensive solidity leaves little margin for error. They don’t have a person, akin to a goalie or striker in nice type, who can get them leads to the way in which 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 beneath supervisor Luis Carrion, it appeared as if Las Palmas have been on the way in which to restoration beneath new supervisor Diego Martinez. Martinez was much less all in favour of 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 top of the calendar yr, Las Palmas had accrued six wins, one draw, and simply two losses in 9 La Liga video games. Even a snug 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 house towards Osasuna. Their momentum has stalled, and their dip in type has dragged them again into hazard.
The absence of Kirian Rodriguez has dealt a major blow to UD Las Palmas, because the staff 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 latest damage to Fabio Silva, one in all 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 persistently leaky and error-prone to carry out within the relegation race. Martinez will want additional defensive enhancements if he desires his staff to outlive.
Alaves: Fading Early Promise
Deportivo Alaves burst out of the gates this season, their physicality and direct model shining beneath 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 staff 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 in the course of the 2024/25 season and having not too long ago signed a contract extension by way of 2026, opted for a change to “give an impulse to the staff,” as acknowledged by membership president Alfonso Fernandez de Troconiz.
Many considered the transfer as harsh, given Plaza’s wonderful observe document. He led Alaves to promotion from the Segunda División in 2022 through the playoffs and secured a Tenth-place end in La Liga the next season. He was changed by Eduardo “Chacho” Coudet, the previous Celta Vigo supervisor, in a bid to show the staff’s fortunes round.
⛏️ Insistimos.#MallorcaAlavés | #GoazenGlorioso ⚪️🔵 pic.twitter.com/5nYeSAn2YV
— Deportivo Alavés (@Alaves) February 26, 2025
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 staff seems to be a bit stronger collectively than it did on the finish of Plaza’s reign, which is mirrored of their underlying numbers. Luck just isn’t on their aspect, nevertheless, they usually’ve had a number of video games at house – 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 large problem: other than striker Kike Garcia being in nice scoring type, Alaves haven’t any different people who can carry the staff by way of this run. Antonio Sivera is a mean shot-stopper, and the double pivot of Antonio Blanco and Ander Guevara just isn’t performing in addition to final yr, to the purpose Guevara has been dropped within the final couple of video games.
Valencia: The Wounded Big
Ruben Baraja’s sacking from Valencia and the next hiring of Carlos Corberan marked an intriguing shift for the membership beneath 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 staff 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 moderately than a footballing establishment, intensified. Baraja’s exit, costing the membership a reported €5m in severance, was a reluctant however inevitable name as Valencia hovered 4 factors from security, with the spectre of relegation – their first since 1986 – looming massive.
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 usually related to splashing money on managerial modifications. Valencia paid round €2.4 million to set off Corberan’s launch clause, bringing the entire value 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 degree, but one with a glowing status from stints beneath Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds and a playoff push with Huddersfield. His tactical acumen and adaptableness supplied hope, however hiring somebody with out top-flight expertise to rescue a sinking large was of venture.
And to this point, the gamble appears to be working effectively sufficient. Corberan’s Valencia are extra compact and stable defensively than Baraja’s, they usually have been in a position to grind out good outcomes. They’ve defeated Actual Sociedad, Celta, and Leganes at house, 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 presupposed to win (vs. lower-half groups at house) and have gotten respectable outcomes towards some top-half groups. Their underlying numbers again up their outcomes.
8 – Solo en 8 de los 57 casos en los que un equipo sumaba 13 puntos o menos tras 19 encuentros en @LaLiga (contando 3 puntos por victoria) se evitó el descenso de categoría, siendo el Zaragoza el último en conseguirlo en la campaña 2011/12. Infierno.#Valencia pic.twitter.com/5cSAXynfBt
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 11, 2025
Out of all of the relegation contenders, Valencia appear to be in the perfect run of type as of the top of February. And one might argue they’ve the strongest, deepest squad out of the relegation contenders. If Valencia proceed this run of type, they may keep away from relegation, even perhaps 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 mean time. His type this season has been a far cry from final season, the place he was arguably essentially the most decisive shot-stopper within the event. A very good Mamardashvili could be an important increase for Valencia’s probabilities within the relegation race.
The Highway Forward
With Valladolid virtually written off, the race to keep away from the remaining two relegation spots is extensive open. Alaves and Valencia have, in my view, essentially the most gifted squads amongst these relegation contenders, but they’re at present in relegation spots. Nevertheless, Valencia appear to have a extra stable staff identification now and are effectively positioned to get out of relegation spots.
In the meantime, Espanyol and Leganes might need much less expertise, however they’ve clear defensive plans that permit them to grind video games out, with Espanyol getting an additional increase as a result of wonderful performances of Joan Garcia. Maybe Las Palmas are the staff with essentially the most uncertainties out of those 5. They don’t have a transparent staff identification 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 La Liga 24/25, the relegation scrap guarantees a superb little bit of drama till the very finish.
José C. Pérez might be discovered on social media right here, and if you happen to’re hungry for extra, discover their wonderful work right here.