We have entered the halfway point in LaLiga as the teams in Spain get a week off for a very highly deserved break in preparation to come back fresh and ready to compete in the New Year.
There have been a lot of surprises in the standings so far during the campaign and one question now for all teams is: Will this last?
Whether we are talking about teams who are exceeding expectations such as Rayo Vallecano or others who are shockingly reaching new lows like Levante, the question is the same.
Their answers and hopes are very, very different though. Judging by how things look at the end of December, it will be a very tough ask to predict how things could go by the end of May, and therefore, let’s get into it.
Here is how the LaLiga standings will look at the end of the 2021-2022 season. Read on to find out where Real Madrid land!
The bottom five
It would be best to start from the bottom and work our way up, right? Like with any top league, the bottom five is the most difficult to predict. We have already witnessed Getafe break an unwanted club record for the worst start to the season while it ended with the sacking of their manager. However, in recent months their fortunes have turned but they are very much in the fight against relegation at the moment. In the end, though, I personally don’t see them taking a trip to the second division but I do see that happening for Levante who currently sit at only 8 points having failed to win any game this season.
Levante could potentially turn things around in 2022 but the problem is that with each passing game, it’s becoming too late for them to even have a fighting chance. Failing to win any of your opening 18 games is cause for panic and for a team like Levante who have made their mark in LaLiga, it will be a hard hit to be going down to the second division but all signs point towards that.
The other teams currently fighting for their spot in the league next season are Alaves, Elche, and Cadiz but they probably won’t all get their Christmas wishes. My prediction would be that from the bottom five teams, the two who would end up being safe are Getafe and Alaves – although it won’t be anywhere even close to easy’ while we could see Elche, Cadiz, and Levante make their way down.
Bottom Five –
16. Getafe
17. Alaves
18. Elche
19. Cadiz
20. Levante
11th-14th place
There have been quite a few teams this season who have had their ups and downs already and no one says it better than Espanyol who returned to this top division this season after spending one year in LaLiga 2. They have been exceeding expectations considering that they have returned this year but at the same time, their performance is consistent with what we expected from them in the past before a poor season saw them go down. The team is more than good enough to stay up and should do so in the same comfort that they have been going with so far this season.
Other teams that are expected to do the same will be Celta Vigo and Osasuna while even though I predict Real Mallorca and Granada to be part of this group of five, they’ll almost definitely struggle to make these spots. However, they’re better than the teams under them and can provide a few shocks along the way to keep their hopes alive as the months progress.
One thing that these five teams have in common is needing to get wins against teams that they should be beating. Espanyol only have six wins so far and that’s the highest among the rest of the teams in this group.
11. Espanyol
12. Celta Vigo
13. Osasuna
14. Granada
15. Real Mallorca
The top half of the LaLiga standings
This is where things begin to get a little interesting especially considering how the top ten teams have been doing so far. The major question on everyone’s mind is what will happen to teams such as Real Sociedad or even Barcelona between now and the end of the campaign? Well, my prediction would be that Real Sociedad will fail to make a top five spot while Barcelona will make it.
Real Sociedad may be edged out of the top five simply due to the same issue they have had for the past couple seasons: They are very good but lack consistency. We have already seen them fall down the table during the past few matches so it should be continuing along a similar trajectory between now and May. They’ll be closely followed by what could be seen as the surprise of the season so far in Rayo Vallecano.
At the moment, Rayo Vallecano is occupying a UEFA Champions League spot and exceeding all expectations. However, it’s safe to assume that they won’t be able to sustain this for too long but even then, they’ll continue to impress and should finish in the top ten. They’ll be followed by Athletic Bilbao who have been doing well after a shaky start to the season.
Villarreal and Valencia are expected to be the last two teams in the top ten which will be seen as a success for Valencia but maybe not as much for Villarreal who come out of a very good season to quite a poor one in the league. The main issue with Villarreal is not finding the scoring touch as they simply fail to find the back of the net after doing everything right. With 18 matches played, they have seven draws and six wins. If they are unable to fix their scoring problems, then there is a genuine risk of them even falling out of the top ten but I don’t see that to be the case.
6. Real Sociedad
7. Rayo Vallecano
8. Athletic Bilbao
9. Valencia
10. Villarreal
Where is Real Madrid in LaLiga’s top five?
Here is where the most eyes will be on. First thing’s first: Barcelona will make the top 4 in my opinion. There are two reasons behind that prediction: First of all, Xavi’s return as manager has improved the team slightly and even though they have struggled under his management, we are able to see some improvement in the team and I would be surprised if they don’t continue to improve from here onwards.
Second, they have the experience to stay consistent throughout the season which is something Xavi will help with as well as their senior players such as Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba among others. Mix that with the incredible young talent in the team with Nico, Gavi, and Ansu Fati there is not too much to worry about when it comes to making it to the top 4.
Atletico Madrid have been inconsistent but the winter break could prove to be just the thing they need to turn their fortunes around. You just can’t discount an Atletico Madrid team with Diego Simeone at the helm, we have seen it time and time again. However, they probably won’t make the top two and that will be disappointing to the current champions with Sevilla taking the second spot.
Sevilla have consistently improved under former Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui and they will do whatever they can to keep up the race for top spot against Real Madrid. Los Merengues should be the team to win the league this season after an impressive run so far in LaLiga but nothing can be taken for granted. They will have to keep fighting until it is mathematically impossible to lose that top spot while keeping an eye on the UEFA Champions League which they will want to do well in as well.
1. Real Madrid
2. Sevilla
3. Atletico Madrid
4. Barcelona
5. Real Betis
There is a very long time to go between now and the end of the season and we’re surely going to experience euphoria and heartbreak – in the end, this is football.
Here is my final predicted rankings at a glance:
1. Real Madrid
2. Sevilla
3. Atletico Madrid
4. Barcelona
5. Real Betis
6. Real Sociedad
7. Rayo Vallecano
8. Athletic Bilbao
9. Valencia
10. Villarreal
11. Espanyol
12. Celta Vigo
13. Osasuna
14. Granada
15. Real Mallorca
16. Getafe
17. Alaves
18. Elche
19. Cadiz
20. Levante