The Spanish Segunda Division is a notoriously competitive league, and this year, it is shaping up to be as wide open as ever. With the recently relegated teams all struggling, there are opportunities for many clubs to be the newly promoted La Liga teams next year.
Leganes, Real Valladolid and Espanyol were the sides that won promotion from the Segunda Division last term.
All of those clubs find themselves in the bottom six of La Liga after eight matches this term, with the jump into the Spanish top flight proving to be a steep one.
Spanish Segunda Division winner odds – who will be the newly promoted La Liga teams next year?
Levante (6/1)
Levante were a top flight club in 11 out of 12 seasons between 2010 and 2022, but the Valencia-based outfit have fallen on hard financial times since relegation. They were forced to sell a number of key players, including rising star Pepelu to their city rivals in 2023.
They missed out on the playoffs last term, but excitement is building amongst Granotes fans that things could turn out much brighter this season. Club legend Jose Luis Morales, one of the players to depart after relegation in 2022, has returned and has already contributed three goals to the Levante cause.
After seven matches, they are sitting pretty at the top of the table on 14 points, having also scored more goals than any other Segunda Division club with 14.
Racing Santander (13/2)
It’s been 12 years since Racing Santander played in the top flight, and they’ve been relegated to the third tier on three separate occasions since then. The club’s battle was a genuine fight to stay afloat at one point amidst serious off-field problems, but thankfully, those issues appear to have been resolved.
The Cantabrian side finished just a place outside the top six last term, whilst playing some of the most exciting football in the Spanish second tier under the guidance of Jose Alberto.
While some of their rivals lost promising young coaches in the summer, the 42-year-old appears committed to the cause at El Sardinero and Racing are looking good, currently level pegging with Levante at the top of the division. They also have the league’s top scorer with forward Andres Martin having already netted six times.
Eibar (8/1)
Eibar have been the nearly-men of the Segunda Division in recent seasons. They’ve consistently mounted strong promotion pushes, only to fall short at the final hurdle.
After some close brushes with automatic promotion, followed by three straight play-off semi-final defeats, the Basque side will be hoping that this is finally their year.
With just one defeat in seven matches to date, they are within striking distance of the top of a league that currently sees the two seven sides separated by only two points. The pressure will be on Joseba Etxeberria’s side to stay the course this term and not buckle when the big games come around in May and June.
Real Zaragoza (10/1)
Real Zaragoza could be seen as Spain’s equivalent of Championship sleeping giants Leeds United, who were forced to cash in on a host of key players this summer.
As the only club in Spain’s fifth-largest city, Real Zaragoza is a top-flight outfit in size and stature, but they are now deep into a long stay in the Segunda Division that has lasted more than a decade.
Followers of Zaragoza are growing used to false dawns. They saw their side win their first five league games last season, only to collapse to a 15th-place finish. They’ve also started brightly this term under returning boss Victor Fernandez, hoping they can at least make the play-offs for the first time in five years.
Real Oviedo (12/1)
Last season’s beaten play-off finalists, Real Oviedo’s top-flight absence is the longest of the five favourites to win promotion from the Segunda Division. The Asturians last welcomed La Liga’s elite clubs to the Carlos Tartiere in the 2000/01 campaign.
They’ve not finished higher than last season’s sixth place in the second tier since then. Despite the departure of coach Luis Carrion to Las Palmas, Oviedo look like they should be competitive again this term under the guidance of former Villarreal boss Javier Calleja.
