Liga sides eye uncertain future

It is a time for goodbyes in La Liga: José Mourinho, Manuel Pellegrini and Philippe Montanier are the first wave of coaches to part company with their clubs, to differing levels of affection. But all eyes in La Liga this week are on the bottom six, where Granada, Osasuna, Deportivo, Zaragoza, Mallorca and Celta are battling to spare themselves the eternal night of Segunda División.

Down below, Villarreal, dramatically relegated last season, is on the verge of bucking the trend of a lengthy stay in the second tier if it can keep Almería, Girona, Alcorcón and Las Palmas at arm's length. Elche has already been promoted to the top flight, its first season in the sun for a quarter century.

Of the other sides that went down at the end of 2011-12, Sporting is condemned to another season in the hinterland and Racing is in danger of the dreaded double drop into Segunda B. If the so-called "silver division" is a difficult enough hangover to ride after the champagne lifestyle of Primera, Segunda B is the footballing equivalent of a bottle of absinthe and a horse tranquilizer.

The teams at the bottom, therefore, are fighting not just for their survival as premier clubs, but in some cases their very existence as a viable entity. Deportivo and Zaragoza, in particular, have books that would make a Gürtel conspirator blush. Celta is not in much better shape financially and on the field the most precarious of the lot after Mallorca's 1-0 win over Betis on Monday night. Rock bottom, the Vigo club has to beat Valladolid or the fat lady will be singing for Abel Resino's side.

Granada has all but extricated itself from the mire with a run of five games unbeaten and stands on 39 points, one shy of the magic 40 generally required for survival. However, it is not out of the woods and the trip to Valencia is unlikely to be a gentle stroll with Los Che needing three points in its own battle with Real Sociedad for the final Champions League place — a financial necessity of a rather happier sort for Ernesto Valverde's side, but a necessity nonetheless with the Mestalla outfit also in dire financial straits.

Mallorca, Zaragoza and Deportivo have all made a decent fist of survival, making the prospect of being hammered into Segunda even less appealing. The latter travels to Pellegrini's Málaga, where the Chilean will oversee his last match at La Rosaleda, with an away win likely to be enough to keep José Luis Oltra's side out of final-day bother.

Zaragoza travels to Betis, which is holding on to seventh place and a European berth. Mallorca's great escape may well come unstuck at a festive Calderón, where cup winners Atlético will aim to give the home fans a last show before the curtain falls on its successful season. Real Madrid travels to fourth-placed Sociedad, while Espanyol hosts Barça, with all matches to be played at 8pm on Sunday.