Ten finals with all to play for

Ten finals remain for the teams in the Liga Adelante to reach the goals they set out at the beginning of the season, which kicked off on the 16th of August 2013. Historical clubs like Eibar gained promotion back to the division, while Real Zaragoza, Deportivo de La Coruña and Mallorca made their way into the competition after suffering relegation from the Spanish topflight.

Given this landscape everything pointed to it being a fight between the Aragon and Galician outfits for the title. However, an unexpected candidate has caught the competition off guard this season, a team that has been able to hold its own with the best sides in the division despite being promoted this year: Eibar. Gaizka Garitano’s team has been the big surprise of the season and the Basque side has earned the respect and admiration of the rest of the teams in the league.

Deportivo, Recreativo de Huelva and Sporting Gijón have been the other contenders for the title, along with Las Palmas, and make up the remaining top five sides in the table. These five teams are separated by just seven points and all share the same dream: promotion. With 30 points still to play for, anything could happen at the top of the table.

But if things seem tight at the top of the league, the midtable in the Liga Adelante is just as closely contested. There are only seven points separating the sixth in the league, who will be competing for a play-off position, and the 18th placed side, a miniscule difference that allows a lot of teams to aspire for Liga BBVA football next season. Consistency will be massively important during the final stretch of the season, and will be the difference between certain teams achieving their objectives while others don’t.

The recently promoted teams deserve special praise. As well as Eibar, who currently lead the table, Álvaro Cervera’s CD Tenerife and Manolo Herrero’s Real Jaén have also be throwing their weight around the upper echelons of the division after having gained promotion to the league this season. Ayoze Pérez and Jona Mejía, with 16 and 14 goals respectively, have been central to these two teams’ good fortune during their return to the Liga Adelante.

The battle to stay up...
The drop zone has been full of uncertainty throughout the campaign, and at the moment is occupied by Ponferradina, Alcorcón, Deportivo Alavés and Girona. Four teams that will be looking to get their seasons back on track in order to remain in the Liga Adelante for another year. One thing standing in their favour is just how tight things are at the bottom. There are very few points separating the teams and with plenty still to play for, there’s no doubt that the final stage of the season will be full of thrills.