Espanyol and Almería, the best second and third in history

More than a climb to the impressive top of the Primera División, the Segunda season is resembling a kind of time trial with a large chainring and a small pinion, at least for the big candidates for direct promotion. Outside of leader, a Mallorca that with 41 points is comparable to the 42 of Betis 2010-11 and Elche 2012-13 (both went up), never the second and the third added so much at this stage of competition. Espanyol and Almería make up the most expensive fight in history to go up without a playoffs, and on top of that they will face next Sunday at the RCDE Stadium.

Are 39 points those who in 18 days have accumulated the Spanish, which places him above the best seconds ever – since victories are worth three points, from the 1995-96 season onwards – that all of them reached this point in LaLiga with 36 points. Its about Malaga in the 2007-08 campaign, the Real society 2009-10, the Celtic 2010-11, the Girona 2012-13 and Sporting de Gijón 2014-15. Of the five, tris they finally got the promotion –Málaga, Real Sociedad (as champion) and Sporting–, while Celta and Girona were not enough.

Regarding the 38 points that serve the Almeria to be third, the closest were only two teams, which adds more asperity to this year's promotion. Its about Merida of the 1996-97 season and the Malaga of 2018-19, which had 35 at this point, and of which only the Extremadura team ended up rising.

In other words, with its current 39 points, Espanyol would march as leader after matchday 18 in all the seasons in the history of the Second Division except four, while Almería, with 38, would also have been first always except for six seasons. Figures that turn this year's fight into titanic and exciting next Sunday's confrontation between parakeets and rojiblancos, at 4:00 p.m., at the RCDE Stadium.