New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Spain’s second division, known as La Liga Hypermotion, is famously competitive. It’s no different this year, with so many teams still in with a serious chance of securing promotion up to La Liga EA Sports, the top flight.

With two match days remaining in Spain’s second division, it’s still not clear who’ll be coming up to La Liga EA Sports.

CD Leganes and Real Valladolid currently occupy the two automatic promotion spots, but the fact that the teams who finish third to sixth enter the playoffs means that every club in the top half of the table can still dream of promotion.

For example, 11th-placed Burgos CF are only four points behind sixth-placed Real Oviedo.

Here, then, comes a look at the situation of every team inside the top half of the La Liga Hypermotion table, outlining just how realistic their promotion aims are.

CD Leganes (First, 70 points):

From Matchday 12 to Matchday 38, CD Leganss were leaders of La Liga Hypermotion and, after briefly falling down to second, they have climbed back to the top of the pile courtesy of a hard-fought 2-1 win over Real Sporting de Gijon in Matchday 40. They could seal automatic promotion on the next matchday, which would mean returning to La Liga EA Sports for the first time since 2020.

Remaining fixtures: Racing de Ferrol (A), Elche CF (H)

Real Valladolid (Second, 69 points):

As one of the teams who just got relegated last summer, Real Valladolid were always going to be one of the favorites for promotion. And, they’re close to achieving this objective, thanks to a late season surge. With six wins and three draws from their past nine matches, they’re rising up the table at the right time and have now moved into the top two.

Remaining fixtures: Villarreal B (H), CD Tenerife (A)

SD Eibar (Third, 68 points):

After coming ever so close to promotion in each of the past two seasons, SD Eibar endured a terrible start to this campaign under new coach Joseba Etxeberria. However, the Basque tactician got the team going in the right direction and they have spent a lot of the second half of the season inside the promotion places. Los Armeros still dream of automatic promotion, but they have two tough fixtures to close out the season, so they’ll have to be at their best.

Remaining fixtures: Real Sporting de Gijón (A), Real Oviedo (H)

RCD Espanyol (Fourth, 65 points):

This is just the sixth season that RCD Espanyol are spending outside of Spain’s top division in club history, so they expect to make an immediate return to La Liga EA Sports. They are giving their best effort to achieve this objective, especially Martin Braithwaite, who is the division’s top scorer on 21 goals.

Remaining fixtures: SD Amorebieta (A), FC Cartagena (H)

Real Racing Club de Santander (Fifth, 64 points):

Real Racing Club de Santander have won three games in a row and their final two fixtures are against teams near the bottom of the table. As the second-top scorers in the entire division, the northern club certainly have the firepower to make it to the playoffs and to give any opponent a scare.

Remaining fixtures: Real Zaragoza (H), Villarreal B (A)

Real Oviedo (Sixth, 61 points):

The final playoff spot is currently held by Real Oviedo, but that could change in an instant, given that it’s so tight at this part of the standings. With automatic promotion out of reach, staying in the top six and playing the lottery of the playoffs is the main goal for the Asturian institution over the remaining two weeks.

Remaining fixtures: FC Andorra (H), SD Eibar (A)

Real Sporting de Gijon (Seventh, 59 points):

As one of Spain’s most historic clubs, Real Sporting de Gijon fans feel that they’ve been away from La Liga EA Sports for too long, having last played at that level in 2017. This season, they’ve put together a consistent campaign and have been inside the top 10 since Matchday 4. What matters, though, is making sure they reach the top six by the end of Matchday 42.

Remaining fixtures: SD Eibar (H), CD Eldense (A)

Elche CF (Eighth, 59 points):

After their frustrating season in La Liga EA sports last year, Elche CF also struggled in La Liga Hypermotion at the beginning of this term. Yet, they’ve turned things around in the second half of the campaign and are very much in the mix for a playoff ticket.

Remaining fixtures: CD Eldense (H), CD Leganés (A)

Racing de Ferrol (Ninth, 58 points):

Racing de Ferrol only just achieved promotion into La Liga Hypermotion last summer, but they’ve kept up momentum and are inside the top half of the table at this late stage of the season, only three points away from the playoff positions. It would certainly be a shock if they can make it back-to-back promotions, but that has been done in the past, most recently with RCD Mallorca in 2019. With that in mind, everyone at the Galician club can keep dreaming.

Remaining fixtures: CD Leganés (H), FC Andorra (A)

Levante UD (10th, 57 points):

After the heartbreak of their stoppage time playoff final loss to Deportivo Alaves in June 2023, Levante UD hope to achieve promotion back to La Liga EA sports this season. But, their recent form hasn’t been particularly encouraging, with just three wins from their past 11 matches. That leaves them on the outside looking in at this stage.

Remaining fixtures: AD Alcorcón (H), SD Huesca (A)

Burgos CF (11th, 57 points):

Burgos CF haven’t been in Spain’s first division since 1980, but they’re currently just four points away from the playoff positions, so their fans can still dream of a miraculous return, especially given that Los Blanquinegros have two very winnable fixtures remaining on their schedule. Remaining fixtures: CD Tenerife (H), AD Alcorcon (A).