Avoiding the well

While the focus has been on a tight top of Segunda the battle down the bottom is really heating up

Segunda has caught the imagination this season and rightly so. For years it's been one of Europe's most underappreciated leagues. Teams tend to be quite equal and plenty of quality has come through the league both in terms of coaches and players.

Most this season have been looking at the battle at the top of Segunda with some unlikely names topping the table such as Mirandes and Huesca mixed with big names such as Racing Santander, Real Oviedo and Elche.

Dropping out of the top two tiers is known in Spain as falling into the well due to it being so difficult to get out.

Down the bottom this season it's looked a foregone conclusion with Tenerife, Cartagena and Racing Ferrol providing very little to the league and Eldense struggling to stay in touch with the sides in the safety positions.

In recent weeks though that has all changed with Eldense and Tenerife hitting their stride and we now have a real battle on our hands with some big name sides battling it out to stay in professional football.

The Table

Castellon

Position: 15th

Fixtures remaining: Racing Santander (A), Almeria (H), Malaga (A), Sporting Gijon (H), Mirandes (A), Eldense (H), Granada (A), Real Zaragoza (H).

Not many would have predicted the side recently promoted would be in the battle to stay up at the start of the season. A few myself included had the side as a dark horse for a play-off spot this season. Last season they ran away with Primera RFEF Group 2 in what was a difficult league. The quality of that group is shown in the fact three of the four promoted sides came from that side. After a promising start to life in Segunda things fizzled out and it looked like opponents had found them out. Castellon like to dominate the ball and sides sat back, soaked up pressure and hit them on the counter.

The club has a data led approach in areas such as recruitment and playing style and while it's now common in Europe it's not as common in Spain. Having fired Dick Schreuder the coach who led them to promotion they appointed his assistant Johan Plat. His record since taking over is three wins, four draws and four defeats and that record sums up the problem entirely. Castellon haven’t been able to put together enough of a run to drag themselves away from the relegation battle particularly as the sides below them pick up points.

The run-in sees them take on four promotion chasing sides and four of their direct rivals in the battle to avoid the relegation places. Eight games is a long time but that last day fixture at home to Real Zaragoza looks potentially massive.

Reasons to be optimistic: Nick Markanich was plucked from the USL Championship in the States and he looked a real handful last weekend as the side drew 2-2 against Albacete. Home advantage could really help Castellon the Estadio Skyfi Castalia is almost always sold out and the fans create a febrile atmosphere, it won’t be easy for opponents in the run in to play there.

Reason to be fearful: Their is a real feeling of injustice around the team at the minute around refereeing decisions with the club issuing a statement complaining about the officials in their Friday night game against Albacete. While the officiating was questionable particularly the amount of time it took to make decisions they have to put that to the side and focus on results. The other worry is they’ve conceded two or more in their last five and defensively they have the worst record out of the sides still battling to stay up.

Malaga

Position: 16th

Fixtures: Huesca (A), Eibar (A), Castellon (H), Granada (H), Eldense (A), Sporting Gijon (H), Elche (A), Burgos (H).

A few months ago Malaga were comfortable in the top half of the table and while attritional looked to be grinding their way to survival. The Andalucian side have won just three matches in 2025 against Cartagena, Tenerife and Racing Ferrol three of the bottom four.

Malaga have a La Liga name but a Primera RFEF squad in reality and to have been out of the relegation battle for most of the season is an achievement in itself when you look through the squad. Their fixture list while not the toughest is still awkward and much will rest on their home games against fellow strugglers Castellon and Sporting.

The Andalucian side have historically been an entertaining outfit with mavericks such as Joaquin, Isco and many more playing for the club but this team is built on defensive solidity with just thirty four goals scored and thirty seven conceded.

Reasons to be optimistic: The fanbase will turn out in large numbers and get behind the team, Malaga fans know this isn’t the most talented team and are united behind them.

Reasons to be fearful: Star players such as keeper Alfonso Herrera are badly out of form and highly rated young winger Antoñito looks to be out of the picture with his impending departure on a free transfer. It’s also worrying that they’ve only beaten the bottom three sides in 2025.

Sporting Gijon

Position: 17th

Fixtures: Eldense (A), Mirandes (H), Cadiz (A), Castellon (A), Depor (H), Malaga (A), Cartagena (H), Racing Ferrol (A).

The Asturian side have never been out of the top two professional tiers of Spanish football a proud record but one now under threat given their poor season. That threat got more real this weekend following a capitulation as they threw away a one goal lead to not only drag them down but give life to their opponents Tenerife.

That defeat saw the end of Ruben Albes, a promising Head Coach but one who has not had the desired effect in Asturias. This time last year Sporting were battling for the play-offs something they achieved on the final day but this season after an inconsistent start has tailed off and become a battle of survival.

The new Head Coach faces a baptism of fire as they face in-form relegation rivals Eldense first and Sporting will have to go to three direct relegation rivals away from the comforts of El Molinon.

Reasons to be optimistic: The hope of a new manager bounce now Albes has departed and their last two matches come against two sides who give hopeless a good name in Cartagena and Racing Ferrol.

Reasons to be fearful: Going away to Eldense, Castellon and Malaga plus tricky home games against Mirandes and Depor means they will have to fight for every point until those last two games.

Real Zaragoza

Position: 18th

Fixtures: Eibar (H), Levante (A), Huesca (H), Racing Ferrol (A), Cartagena (H), Real Oviedo (A), Depor (H), Castellon (A).

Los Maños were in freefall until the weekend when Gabi and his men secured a vital 1-0 victory at home to Mirandes in a nervy and cagey affair. That victory took them out of the relegation zone and was their first victory since the 26th January when they won against fellow relegation rivals Malaga away.

That victory was also their first home victory in 2025 in what has been a dreadful second half of the season. The appointment of Miguel Angel Ramirez didn’t work at all and a side who looked to be heading for midtable mediocrity have ended up in a relegation battle.

The pressure felt like it was ramping up on the side from Aragon so that victory could be a gamechanger but only time will tell if Gabi is a chip off the Diego Simeone block or if he’s bitten off more than he can chew in his first senior management role.

Fixture wise an Aragon derbi is no gimme but Huesca have dropped off form wise and two games against Racing Ferrol and Cartagena should be just what the doctor ordered but La Romareda is a demanding stadium and if they start slow against Cartagena it could get toxic quickly. Again it looks like it might go down to the wire and that final day clash against Castellon looks mouth watering.

Reasons to be optimistic: The fanbase seems to be behind Gabi their former captain and as a coach he’s a complete unknown quantity. They also have games against Cartagena and Racing Ferrol something every side will be wishing they had.

Reasons to be fearful: Pressure is huge at the Aragon club and while things feel rosy after a great win against Mirandes a defeat or two and it could be doomsday in Zaragoza.

Eldense

Position: 19th

Fixtures: Sporting Gijon (H), Racing Ferrol (A), Cordoba (H), Almeria (A), Malaga (H), Castellon (A), Racing Santander (H), Huesca (A).

Eldense for most of this season looked to be taking a well worn path, the club is well funded and after promotion to Segunda had a solid first season before similar to Ibiza and Andorra second season syndrome kicked in and they fell into the relegation places.

The difference here though is Eldense recruited well in January and most importantly hired Jose Lluis Oltra a coach with real pedigree in Segunda who has turned them round. Oltra has taken charge of over 400 Segunda matches and in his reign so far has won five of his eleven games to see them go from cast adrift to dragging sides into the mire.

They also take on three of their direct relegation rivals as well as Racing Ferrol who sit second bottom and it feels like momentum is with the side from Elda.

Reasons to be optimistic: Oltra has been there and done it when it comes to Segunda and ultimately given the size of the other clubs the expectations and pressure are off when it comes to Eldense. Their rivals all have big fanbases and pressure on them while Eldense play in front of 4,400 fans on average.

Reasons to be fearful: Eldense do take on three of the top seven but given the form of all three of them even then they’ve landed on their feet really. The main question is can they keep up their form?

Tenerife

Position: 20th

Fixtures: Burgos (H), Depor (A), Eibar (H), Levante (A), Racing Ferrol (H), Cartagena (A), Real Oviedo (H), Almeria (A).

For most of the season it would have been frankly ridiculous to include Tete in an article about potentially staying up but then Alvaro Cervera got his side in the groove somehow and they’ve won four out of the last five to have a tiny glimmer of hope.

With eight games to go they sit nine points adrift of safety and the most frustrating thing is while this isn’t a squad of world beaters they are much better than their league position suggests.

Players such as Luismi Cruz have suddenly hit form and Cervera who is known for his defensive discipline as a coach has got them playing great counter attacking football.

It is likely too late now for them but the powers that be at Tete will need to secure Cervera down to a long term contract and fast and who knows maybe the greatest escape of all time could happen?

Reasons to be optimistic: Tete are the in-form side in the bottom half of the division and also have two bankers in Cartagena and Racing Ferrol to come.

Reasons to be fearful: Nine points is still a huge number at this stage and to collect at least nine points more than two of their rivals feels a big ask at this late stage.

It would be foolish to even try to attempt who stays up and who goes down never mind in a league as madcap as Segunda but we can predict it will be full of twists and turns and that it will be chaos as that is just the way of Segunda in recent years.