The 2022/23, the 92nd season of La Liga, Spain’s top football league, is also known as La Liga Santander owing to sponsorship issues. It began on August 12th, 2022, and is expected to last until June 4th, 2023.
Real Madrid is the reigning champion after winning their 35th championship the season before. The league will have a midseason break since the 2022 FIFA World Cup will start on November 20th, 2022.
The final round of games before the break occurred from November 8th to 10th, and the league is set to resume play on December 29th, 2022. Since 2012/13, this season is the first to end in June.
Promotions and Regulations Recap
Twenty teams compete in the division, including the seventeen teams from the 2021/22 season. The two best teams from the Segunda División and the winners of the promotion play-offs are also included in the 20 teams.
Levante was the first squad to be demoted from La Liga after losing 6-0 to Real Madrid on May 12th, 2022, marking the end of their five-year stint in the top division. Alavés was the second team to be demoted after losing 1-3 to Levante on May 15th, 2022, ending their six-year tenure in the top division.
On May 22nd, 2022, the penultimate matchday, Granada, who had drawn with Espanyol and also defeated Cádiz and Mallorca, was the third and last team to be demoted to Segunda. A three-year stint at the top level came to an end in Granada.
Almeria and Real Valladolid, who mathematically won the top and second spots on the last match day of the season, were the first two teams to be promoted from Segunda División. After being absent for seven years, Almera and Valladolid both made their La Liga comebacks.
Girona, who defeated Tenerife in the play-off final 3-1 and returned to the league after a three-year exile, was the third and last team to be promoted.
La Liga Returns in December
While La Liga has completed the first half of the season and is presently taking a vacation in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, players and supporters are preparing for its return and for La Liga betting to begin.
Barcelona presently leads Real Madrid by two points at the top of the standings but will have to balance chasing the title with preserving its reputation in Europe after embarrassingly exiting the Champions League and being forced to compete in the Europa League knockout round.
Once considered a title contender, Atletico Madrid is in rapid fall after dropping to fourth shortly before the FIFA World Cup break. Relegation prospects are crowded at the bottom of the rankings, including Celta de Vigo and Sevilla, who also have trouble winning games.
Elche appeared to be headed for the bottom, but late surges from Mallorca and Girona have allowed them to move up the table.
Updates on the Title Race
It looks like it’s going to be another La Liga season where only Real Madrid and Barcelona are competing for the championship. The Blaugrana finished first in the standings for the first half of the season despite Madrid having the advantage for the whole of the game.
Madrid faltered in the last stretch leading up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup pause, giving Barcelona a meagre consolation prize after failing to advance past the group round of the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid dropped to fifth shortly before the winter break after spending most of the season in third place but rarely seeming like a contender. Elche, currently in last place and winless after 14 games, has a grim outlook, but there’s a race to escape the other two trap doors to the second tier.
Despite lingering in the bottom half, promoted teams Girona and Almeria have proven they may have what it takes to survive. They’ll still have optimism, especially with teams like Sevilla and Celta Vigo, who were anticipated to compete for European spots but are unexpectedly still in the running for relegation.
Both Sevilla and Celta de Vigo have lost five straight games, and both teams fired their managers at some point in the first half.
UEFA Champions League Contenders
Four spots in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League are earned directly by La Liga. The traditional big-budget names like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will undoubtedly contend for three of them as they go to the top four finishers.
Real Betis, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad are the other groups that can impact the competition. A Europa League spot (5th place) or Conference League spot will be awarded to teams who finish outside the top four spots in the Champions League (6th place).
The other open Europa League ticket goes to the winner of the Copa del Rey in Spain. The second Europa League spot would instead be given to the team in sixth place in the standings if the Copa del Rey champion happened to be a top-four La Liga team, giving them a more valuable Champions League entry.
The sole Conference League automatic spot would therefore go to the team that placed seventh. The season will undoubtedly be a success if Osasuna and Rayo Vallecano can earn a spot in one of the European tournaments.
Predictions for the Next Few Games
Let’s have a look at the La Liga predictions and what experts have to say about the next few La Liga games.
Girona FC vs Rayo Vallecano Prediction
According to their head-to-head record, Rayo Vallecano has won eight times, and Girona FC has won five times in their 15 encounters. There have been two draws in games between Girona FC and Rayo Vallecano.
Most pundits believe Rayo Vallecano will triumph in this match with a score of 2-1, but a few others seem to believe a 1-1 draw is more likely.
Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao
The head-to-head record between Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao reveals that in their 25 encounters, Real Betis has prevailed seven times, while Athletic Club Bilbao has done so 14 times.
Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Betis have drawn four times in their previous meetings. It’s expected that Athletic Club will prevail by one goal in this match. Additionally, there’s a strong chance that the game will conclude in a tie.
Atlético Madrid vs Elche CF
The head-to-head record between Atlético Madrid and Elche CF reveals that in their 10 encounters, Atlético Madrid has triumphed nine times while Elche CF has done so once. A tie was the result of one matchup between Atlético Madrid and Elche CF.
Considering the past, it’s simple to anticipate the result of this game. Atletico Madrid is by far the favourite to win in this match.
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