Three reasons you should ditch Primera for Segunda on Easter Sunday
Eibar vs Levante is the headliner
A holiday weekend means that there’s extra time to take in all the joys that Spanish football has to offer, and this weekend Segunda is giving good reason for you to consider watching some second tier action as opposed to the top flight offering.
With neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona in action, you can instead turn your attention to a title race of a different kind and one where there is plenty more to play for than the 12-point gap in Primera.
Here, we’ll give you three reasons you should be tuning into Segunda this weekend.
A clash of the titans
The headline act is the 16:15 CEST kick-off at Ipurua as Eibar welcome Levante to the Basque valleys. Not only are these two former LaLiga sides, but they are first and third in Segunda in a title race which pits five teams within as many points.
Las Palmas, Alavés and Granada will all be watching on with eager eyes to see if Gaizka Garitano’s Eibar drop points for a third consecutive match day, but the Basque side are unbeaten in seven games and appear to be showing a defensive solidity which could see them go one better than last season’s final day collapse.
Levante, under popular coach Javi Calleja, are incredibly tough to beat. They have conceded just once in their last four matches, and have lost only two out of 17 away games all season. Given that Eibar have only lost one game at Ipurua, it’s all in the balance.
Squeaky bum time for Leganés
Eight games without a win and five consecutive defeats is a disastrous run for any team, but even more so when it involves six games without a goal, and only a penalty in another. That’s how Leganés have gone from play-off chasing to looking over their own shoulder.
“We’re in an emergency situation and have to find 10 points whatever it takes,” coach Imanol Idiakez said after a 3-1 loss to Cartagena where Leganés led for most of the game. Chants of “Idiakez vete ya" rang around Butarque for that one. He was duly sacked on Tuesday evening.
At 18:30 CEST, they take on Ponferradina under Carlos Martinez, the club legend who has worked wonders with their B team. Their opponents are the closest team in the bottom four to catching them. Unbeaten in four, and having recently drawn with second-placed Granada and beaten fourth-placed Alavés, their confidence is sky high.
Outsiders in action
A look at the teams chasing promotion, including the aforementioned Eibar and Levante, may be a little uninspiring for any LaLiga fans looking to discover something new that could join the top flight next season.
But among those seeking to sneak in to the play-offs are two of the season’s outsiders: Cartagena and Burgos. Albacete sit in sixth on 52 points, but Cartagena are two points behind with Burgos an additional point off the pace. Contrasting teams, given that only Granada have scored more than Cartagena and nobody has conceded fewer than Burgos, they face tricky ties with Cartagena welcoming mid-table Mirandés while Burgos travel to Huesca.
Only two teams in the league have scored fewer than Burgos’ 27 goals this season, and it’s come back to bite them of late. A tough fixture list and a lack of goals saw them go six games without a win before beating Racing Santander on Saturday, to at least keep the pressure on Cartagena.
Where to watch Segunda División
In the UK, the rights to broadcast the Spanish Segunda División are owned by LaLigaTV, which is a subscription-based channel dedicated to Spanish football. You can watch the matches live on LaLigaTV, which is available on Sky TV and Virgin Media.
In the US, the rights to broadcast LaLiga Smartbank are owned by beIN Sports. You can watch the matches live on beIN Sports, which is available as a cable or satellite TV channel, as well as through various streaming services.