La Liga Standings and Relegation Prediction, Best Bets, Odds 2022/23

Like almost every other European soccer league, La Liga is played on a double round-robin basis. Each of the division’s 20 teams plays every other side home and away, with three points awarded for a win and one point for a tie. The three teams with the fewest points after 38 rounds of fixtures are relegated to the Segunda Division.

As a result of this format, there is no fixed date when La Liga relegation is announced – that moment is simply confirmed when it is no longer mathematically possible for a team to finish 17th or higher. A tally of 38 points is usually – but not always – sufficient for a side to remain In La Liga.

Spain’s main league previously featured a relegation play-off, where one or two teams from La Liga would face teams from the second division to determine which of them would play in the top flight the following year. This system was replaced by the current one in 1999.

Relegation ends a club’s participation in La Liga. A team that is relegated will spend the following season in the Segunda Division, the second tier of Spanish soccer.

Relegation is an integral part of the Spanish soccer system, as it is in almost every European league. This, of course, is a different format to the United States, where teams in MLS are immune from the threat of demotion.

There are no calls for relegation to be abolished in La Liga. Three teams going down each season helps to freshen up the league and gives an opportunity to smaller sides to reach the top flight. Relegation has been part of La Liga since 1929/30, and is an alternative source of entertainment to the battle for the title.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Athletic Bilbao have never been relegated from La Liga, unlike the other 59 sides who have spent at least one season in the league since its creation.

Atletico Madrid have been demoted on two occasions and were the first-ever Spanish side to be sent down to the Segunda Division when they finished bottom of La Liga in 1930.

The three teams relegated from La Liga each year are replaced by three clubs from the Segunda Division. The top two go up automatically, as Almeria and Real Valladolid did last term.

The teams that finish third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in the Segunda qualify for the promotion play-offs. The winner of that mini-tournament also wins a place in La Liga, which is what Girona did in 2021/22.

Soccer fans based in the United States can watch La Liga on ESPN. Kick-off times usually range from 11.00 AM to 4.00 PM (EDT).