The Liga Adelante heats up

The Liga Adelante enters its final stretch and the pressure is on every team. At the top of the table, any slip up could prove costly in the fight for promotion, while for the teams at the bottom, every game without picking up points is a setback which is difficult to recover from. The excitement and tension increases with every passing week and LFP.es review the key moments from this weekend's action.

Betis, Girona and Sporting break free in the fight for promotion

The fight for the top two places is getting clearer. Real Betis, Girona FC and R. Sporting have emerged at the head of the pack, while UD Las Palmas and R. Valladolid CF have slipped behind after their recent slip ups but are still close by. Betis beat At. Osasuna 3-0 and stay top of the league, while Girona now occupy second place after beating Valladolid 2-1, unseating Sporting. The Gijón side were up against bottom side FC Barcelona B but could no better than a goalless draw with the Catalans.

More clubs join the fight for the play-offs

R. Zaragoza and SD Ponferradina, the two main candidates to reach sixth place to contest the promotion play-offs, have found new contenders in this final stretch of the Liga Adelante after drawing their games. UE Llagostera, who have now gone nine games without losing, are now two points behind Zaragoza after beating R. Racing C 2-0 in the Sardinero.

D. Alavés and CD Lugo, with 44 puntos, are four points from sixth place after winning their games this week. The Vitoria side earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory at AD Alcorcón while the Galician side thrashed RCD Mallorca 4-0. And CD Leganés are not out of the race yet either, as they have 43 points after drawing with Ponferradina.

The new boys continue to shine

The newly promoted sides keep on rising up the table. Despite being new to the league, the recently promoted sides are doing themselves proud in the Liga BBVA. UE Llagostera and Albacete B are the two teams with the best record in the second half of the season. The Catalans lie eighth in the table and have their eyes on the play-offs after going nine games without losing, picking up 23 points from 29.

Life is also sweet at the moment for Albacete, who have gone eight matches without defeat, picking up three victories. The last two matches have been key to Albacete, who beat Valladolid away from home and this week beat Las Palmas 1-0 at their Carlos Belmonte home.

Pedro Ríos lifts Recreativo out of the relegation zone

RC Recreativo gave themselves breathing space in their fight for survival. Spurred on by Pedro Ríos' goal from 53 metres, Recre turned things round against CD Numancia, who had taken the lead through Sergi Enrich, to move out of the relegation zone. At. Osasuna took their place in the drop zone after losing to Betis, despite having the same number of points as the Andalusians. The other three teams in dreaded relegation positions are Barcelona B, Racing and CE Sabadell. The Cantabrian side were beaten 2-0 by Llagostera at El Sardinero, while the two Catalans side picked up a point away from home, Barça drawing at El Molinón and Sabadell holding CD Mirandés to a draw at Anduva.