More teams than usual are locked in the scramble to drop to the Second Division, intensifying the final stretch of La Liga.
The push to avoid relegation remains one of the season’s strongest motivations in La Liga, keeping the league’s drama alive as fans, and increasingly players, follow every twist from start to finish. In the 2022-2023 season, that drama is amplified by a larger group of clubs fighting to stay up. The question now is straightforward: which teams will complete the ascent to the Second Division and how will the decision be made?
At this moment, the gap between the team sitting 13th, Getafe, and the side in the relegation zone just above the bottom, Almería, is only three points. That small margin suggests the classic benchmark of 42 points may not be the magic number many expect; a different total could prove necessary to secure safety by season’s end.
The competition
As always, the last three fall
In La Liga Santander, three clubs are relegated each season, finishing 18th, 19th and 20th after the 38 rounds. Those teams finish with the fewest points, or, in cases where contenders in the safety zone accumulate very similar totals, the worst goal difference becomes the deciding factor. The margin is often razor-thin, which makes every match feel crucial.
It’s worth noting that last season there was no need for a tiebreak because Cádiz, finishing 17th, ended with 39 points after a win over Alavés in a tight encounter, while Mallorca, finishing 16th, also reached 39 points with a victory against Osasuna in Pamplona. Those outcomes illustrate how fine the lines can be between staying up and joining the fight to climb back up the ladder.