La Liga survival race has 12 teams within six points with two matches left | OneFootball

With two matches left, La Liga’s survival fight is unprecedented, 12 clubs from eighth to 19th squeezed into a six-point band.

According to L'Équipe, Barcelona have sealed the title and Real Madrid, Villarreal, Atlético and Betis have secured Champions League spots.

From Real Sociedad in eighth on 45 points to Levante in 19th on 39, the pack is crammed together. Only promoted Oviedo, bottom, are already down.

Real Sociedad are effectively safe, head-to-head permutations mean 10 sides cannot overhaul them. Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano, both on 44, sit five clear of 18th-placed Mallorca on 39 and four off seventh.

The four-point gap between Valencia, 11th on 43, and Levante in 19th underlines real jeopardy. La Liga splits ties on head-to-head, adding complexity.

The run-in has swung wildly. Espanyol, fifth after matchday 20, then went 18 without a win from matchdays 18 to 35, a La Liga record, and Elche endured an 11-game drought.

At Levante, Luis Castro, hired on 20 December after being sacked by Nantes, has taken 26 points from 20 games and back-to-back wins have revived hopes. Pellegrino Matarazzo at Real Sociedad on 20 December, Quique Sanchez Flores at Alavés on 3 March and Luis Garcia at Sevilla on 24 March have also steadied form, while Girona have not won since six April, six matches.

Source: L'Équipe