The curtain falls down on another La Liga campaign on Saturday and Barcelona are the worthy champions again. But while Hansi Flick’s men take the plaudits and are ready to join the celebrations in Catalonia there is still plenty of business to be completed elsewhere.
While the top five teams have booked their places in the 2026/27 Champions League, and Celta Vigo are, barring an 11-goal turnaround on Saturday, finishing sixth, the race for seventh place and a spot in the Europa Conference League is still in the balance, with Getafe, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia all in the hunt.
Okay, Real Sociedad in tenth can still make it if they win away to Espanyol, but that relies on Getafe losing and the other two chasers failing to win and the La Liga 2026 betting odds say that’s too much of a stretch, particularly as La Real have picked up three draws and three defeats from their last six. So, I’m going to concentrate on the other three clubs who sit between seventh and ninth.
Getafe vs Osasuna
Getafe are in the box seat, but with three defeats in the last five and only two wins from six they are on the slide and head coach Jose Bordelas needs to lift his team one last time on Saturday. The club has played in the Europa League three times and were Copa del Rey runners up in 2007 and 2008 and this is a return to the top half of the table for the first time in six seasons. A 1-0 loss to relegation threatened Elche last week has meant Getafe are in an unwanted final day shootout, and they will try to replicate the form of their 3-1 win over Real Mallorca on their last outing at the Estadio Coliseum.
Uruguayan striker Martin Satriano scored two in the win over Mallorca and he will give the Osasuna defence a tough afternoon. But the visitors have a red hot hitman in Ante Budimir, the league’s third top scorer with 19 goals.
The home crowd in a tight stadium will make this as hostile as possible for the visitors who will have plenty of nerves as they are still in a relegation fight and have lost five from the last six. Getafe is at 2.30 to win and 1.30 to avoid defeat, but Bordelas’ men would prefer to be the masters of their own destiny. I think they will have enough to see the job through.
Alaves vs Rayo Vallecano
Three wins and three draws from their last six league games have launched Vallecano into contention with the best set of recent La Liga 2026 results of the three challengers. Jorge de Frutos with ten goals is the attacking star of the ‘Pride of the Working Class’ in Madrid. And head coach Inigo Perez looks likely to at least equal his eighth placed finish of last term. Alaves, in 14th look pretty safe, but they have won their last two league outings to pull away from trouble and will be dangerous.
Vallecano also have a Europa Conference League final to look forward to, their first ever European final, against Crystal Palace next week; so they have two irons in the fire and that might just take the edge off their intensity on Saturday.
Rayo are at SBOTOP odds of 2.95 to get the three points they need, though a draw, at odds of 3.30 might be enough should Getafe lose at home to Osasuna.
Valencia vs Barcelona
Ninth placed Valencia have won three and lost only one from their last six games and they need to beat Barca to have any chance of snatching that seventh place from under the noses of Getafe and Vallecano. At odds of 3.65 to win it’s a long shot…but stranger things have happened. Carlos Corberan has transformed Los Ches since his arrival in 2024, stabilising the club last term and building a Europe chasing group this season.
Skippered by centre back Cesar Tárrega, Los Ches won 4-3 away to Real Sociedad last week as striker Hugo Duro scored his tenth goal of the campaign. But they will be without defender Eray Comert as the Swiss star was red carded against La Real.
Valencia need to win their final game and hope both their rivals slip up, but that is easier said than done against the recently crowned champions who have won five from six. The Blaugrana did manage to lose 1-0 away to Alaves when they were last on the road, but that was in the aftermath of their title winning El Clasico triumph…so I guess it may be excusable. I can’t see Flick’s men being anything less than at their best on Saturday so I’d say Valencia needs a near miracle.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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