Segunda Roundup: the show that never ends

“Welcome my friends, to the show that never ends.” Emerson, Lake and Palmer, right? Or the Spanish Segunda División? Seven matches remain; the regular season runs until June 2nd and then there are playoffs. It’s a crazy division, and difficult to escape.

Some years, one (or occasionally two) teams dominate others, win promotion easily. Not this year. The co-leaders, Sporting Gijon and Rayo Vallecano, have 64 points from 25 matches. Sporting are on fire—undefeated in 10 matches, eight straight wins. Uruguayan youth international Michael Santos has been their star (though injured recently) with 16 goals. Ironically, he’s on loan from Malaga, now relegated.

Sporting look good bets to make it as long as they continue to do well; Rayo Vallecano have lost only once in their last 14 (to Sporting); unfortunately for them, their star striker, Raul de Tomás (20 goals) is a Real Madrid loanee, so they are unlikely to be able to keep him.

Then, in the playoff places, comes Huesca (62 points), Numancia (57), Cadiz (57), Real Oviedo (56) and, just outside them, Zaragoza (55), Granada (54), Tenerife (52) and Osasuna (52). Of that group, Huseca and Cadiz have been struggling, while Numancia has started to pick it up of late with 4 wins from 5. The Soría club have four matches left against teams in the bottom third of the table, and a home match against Oveido.

Speaking of the bottom, Sevilla’s B team and Lorca FC are dead in the water (23 points); Cordoba (36) and Barcelona B (37) have the other relegation positions. Cultural Leonesa and Almeria are on 39, Nastic Tarragona and Alcorcon are on 42. It’s a bit diffcult to infer form, but Barca B and Almeria haven’t won since February.

If Barca B are relegated, and no B team is promoted from the Segunda B, fall 2018 will be the first time since the 2002-2003 season that there has not been a B team in the Segunda. And, if Cordoba are relegated, their B team will automatically be demoted to the Tercera.

Big matches this weekend:

Friday, Oveido-Valladolid

Saturday, Zaragoza-Almeria; Nastic-Numancia; Tenerife-Huesca

Sunday, Barcelona B-Rayo, Cadiz-Sporting.