With just one matchday to go in La Liga, undoubtedly the most exciting thing yet to be decided is the European race. While Leganes retain slim hopes of what would be the great escape, Rayo Vallecano, Celta Vigo and Osasuna harbour aspirations of their own jaunts abroad. After Atletico Madrid, Athletic Club, Villarreal and Real Betis were confirmed as third through sixth – in that order, it leaves two European spots up for grabs.
Seventh spot will get a Europa League spot, while eighth will earn a Conference League place, due to La Liga securing an extra Champions League spot through their UEFA coefficient. Predicting which of Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano or Osasuna will come away with the rewards on the final day though may require the expert football reviews & analysis from 22bet. Rayo’s shock away win to Celta in the penultimate matchday leaves everything up in the air going into the final day of the season.
Final Day fixtures for European qualification
On the final day, Celta Vigo travel to Getafe knowing that a win guarantees seventh. Rayo Vallecano know they must match Osasuna’s result to receive some sort of European football next season against RCD Mallorca, recently knocked out of the running for Europe. If they beat Mallorca and Celta do not win, they would overtake the Galicians.
That would spell disaster for Celta, who know that failure to win in the Coliseum, combined with an Osasuna win over already safe Alaves would mean missing out entirely. For Los Rojillo, the matter is simple: better Celta or Rayo’s results to overtake them.
Three sides on a budget
It is a credit to their managers, sporting directors and the players that they are in that position, given they will finish ahead of the likes of Valencia, Real Sociedad and Sevilla, all of who possess significantly higher spending potential, although Los Che have become notoriously frugal of late.
Rayo did not spend a single penny this past summer, making seven signings, four of which were on a free, and three of which were on loan. Meanwhile neither Celta nor Osasuna broke the €10m spending barrier. The Navarrese side only spent €8m on Enzo Boyomo, Abel Bretones and a loan for Bryan Zaragoza. That was still a net profit of €750k following the exit of David Garcia. Celta are currently on the verge of a miracle despite making a €12.5m profit, their only signing the payment of an obligatory €7m fee for Unai Nunez, who isn’t even at the club, returning to Athletic Club on loan. Their only additions came from the academy, three loan deals and a free transfer for Marcos Alonso.
