Why La Liga 2 Is The Most Exciting League This Season

The Premier League title race looks like it is already over. The Bundesliga one is in Bayern Munich’s hands. In France, it is PSG’s to lose. Spain and Italy have two quite tight title races, between a few teams, while the Eredivisie has recently seen Ajax take the initiative over the other teams. The top leagues in Europe are becoming mostly predictable, with a few curveballs here and there, but in the leagues below are some very interesting storylines.

Where Are The Relegated Sides?

The biggest news coming out of the Spanish second tier is that any of eight different teams could still win the title, but interestingly, only two of the three teams relegated from La Liga last season are in the mix, and neither of them are favourites. Cadiz were relegated in 18th, five points off safety. This season, they have been poor, especially at the start, but that was mainly down to their loss of a number of loan players from the season prior.

🚨 OFFICIAL: Cádiz are RELEGATED from La Liga. ❌ pic.twitter.com/41YLesQfUj

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 19, 2024

Grenada finished bottom of the Spanish top flight last season, and are now in eighth in La Liga 2, but are still in contention for the title, despite not being favourites. They are just six points off the league leaders, and have only lost seven games all season, demonstrating the gulf in class between those near the bottom, and those in the top half. The issue they currently face is that their top goal scorer, and second top in the league, left in January for the MLS. They are the second top scorers in the league, so finding a replacement amongst their team won’t be too difficult.

The best of the relegated sides from last season is Almeria, who are currently in sixth, with the best attacking record in the league. For a while last season, it looked as if they could end up as the worst team in La Liga history, however a late resurgence was much too late, as they finished 12 points off the next team, and 17 from safety. This year they are scoring freely, but also letting in a lot of goals. Colombian striker Luis Suarez is the league’s top goalscorer, but even that isn’t enough to get them to the summit of the league.

Who Is In The Driving Seat?

Realistically, there isn’t just a single team in the driving seat, but two very close together, both on the same number of points, and both within just three goals of each other. Mirandes have spent much of their existence bouncing around the lower tiers of Spanish football, however in 2012, they managed to earn promotion to the second division for the first time. Since then, they have spent the majority of the time around the bottom half of La Liga 2, until this season, when they have surprised everyone with their incredible form.

pic.twitter.com/jLJglCF3km

— Club Deportivo Mirandés (@CDMirandes) February 17, 2025

The other side on 48 points at this point in the season is Real Racing Club, also known as Racing de Santander, or just Racing. Their history has been almost the opposite to Mirandes, as they have spent much of it in La Liga, but were relegated back in 2012 for the first time in 10 years. Unlike 10 years prior, they were unable to bounce straight back again, and instead fell into the third tier on several occasions. This season they are by far the best team away from home, earning an average of two points per game on the road. If they were to fix up their home record, then they would win the league with ease.

The Other Contenders?

Huesca, Elche and Real Oviedo are all one point behind the league leaders, so are all within a shout of getting promoted. Huesca have only been in the top tier twice, and have never managed to stay there, spending most of their history in the third and fourth divisions.

Elche are probably the most familiar of the three names to English football fans, as they have spent three of the past five seasons in the Spanish top flight. They have spent a total of 24 years in La Liga, with a long period in the 60s and 70s where they were top flight regulars.

It's half time at the Power Horse Stadium and it remains 0-0 down in Almeria. Both these sides are very much in the hunt for promotion and Elche could go top tonight if they find a breakthrough against Rubi's side. https://t.co/8clLj22AdQ

— El_Partido (@el_partido_es) February 17, 2025

Real Oviedo are considered fallen giants of Spanish football, as they have spent 38 seasons in La Liga during their history. They haven’t played at the top level since 2001, and in that time they have played in the third and fourth tiers. The closest they have come to a La Liga return was last year, where they lost in the final of the playoff, 2-1 to Espanyol.

The final contender for promotion to La Liga is Levante, who sit sandwiched in between Almeria and Granada in seventh place. In the 18 seasons between 2004 and 2022, Levante was in La Liga for 14 of them, but since then, have failed to get promoted on two occasions. This year, their recent dip in form may be worrying their fans that the same could happen again.