Fansided

The Euro Preview: Cinderella teams hoping to conquer Europa League spots

By Clemente Lisi

EIBAR, SPAIN - DECEMBER 21: Joan Jordan of SD Eibar celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal during the La Liga match between SD Eibar and Girona FC at Ipurua Municipal Stadium on December 21, 2017 in Eibar, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
EIBAR, SPAIN - DECEMBER 21: Joan Jordan of SD Eibar celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal during the La Liga match between SD Eibar and Girona FC at Ipurua Municipal Stadium on December 21, 2017 in Eibar, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Spanish clubs Eibar and Real Betis, as well as Germany’s Augsburg, are having Cinderella seasons. Can they continue to rack up enough points to become the continent’s surprise teams of the season?

La Liga

The team currently in the best form in Spain, and possibly all of Europe, aren’t Barcelona, but tiny Eibar. That’s right, Eibar. Currently tied for seventh place in La Liga with (another surprise!) Real Betis, Eibar have exceeded all expectations thus far this season. As a result, they now find themselves competing for a spot in the Europa League.

Both Eibar and Real Betis are usually relegation-bound or striving to finish mid-table by season’s end. This season has been another story. While Barca seem to be running away with the title and Real Madrid continue to struggle, Eibar and Real Betis are two clubs breathing some life into a competition that looks like a forgone conclusion.

Both teams are 8-3-8 so far this season, with Betis holding the slight edge thanks to a better goal differential. Eibar, based in a town of just 27,000 people and La Liga’s smallest team, were founded in 1940 and have been a second division regular for most of this century.

The club were promoted to the top flight at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season. In their subsequent three Liga seasons, they finished 16th (2014-15), 13th (2015-16) and in 10th last season. The team are definitely on a winning trajectory and this could very well be the year they can finish seventh, which qualifies a team for the third qualifying round of the Europa League. It was a spot captured last season by Athletic Bilbao.

Real Betis, meanwhile, were promoted to the first division at the end of the 2014-15 season. They finished a dismal 15th last season, flirting with the relegation zone for much of the year. Their form this season has shocked fans and onlookers alike. They now find themselves battling Eibar for that final Europa League spot.

Real Betis travel to Barcelona on Sunday, while Eibar host Malaga, currently in 19th place, the following day.

Bundesliga

With action in Germany back in full swing, Bayern Munich picked up where they left off in 2017 — with a 3-1 win against Bayern Leverkusen. Bayern host struggling Werder Bremen, currently in 16th place, this Sunday in another match the league leaders are favored to win.

Bayern hold a 13-point lead atop the table over RB Leipzig. In a tournament where the race for the title is effectively over, Augsburg are turning heads. Currently in seventh place with 27 points, Augsburg finished fifth during the 2014-15 campaign, but usually finish somewhere in the middle of the table. The club were promoted from the second tier at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season.

As part of the break, the team spent six days in the Spanish city of Tenerife preparing for the second half of the season. The sun may have helped. This season, they’re looking to lock up a Europa League spot, maintaining their surprise form of the past few months soon after the break with a stunning 1-0 victory last weekend against Hamburg.

This Saturday, Augsburg travel to Borussia Monchengladbach, in sixth place with 28 points, in what will be one of the biggest games of the season. Expect a high-scoring game. When the sides first met this season on matchday 2 back in August, they produced a high-paced 2-2 draw. The clubs have played 15 times all time in the top flight, producing an average of 2.9 goals per game.

Next: Harry Kane sets more records

Serie A

The winter break in Italy ends this weekend when the tightest title race of Europe’s five major domestic competition resumes. Napoli lead the pack with 51 points, followed by Juventus at 50, Inter Milan at 42, Lazio at 40 and Roma at 39. Both Lazio and Roma have a game in hand.

Napoli travel to the city of Bergamo to take on Atalanta, last year’s surprise team and in sixth place this season tied at 30 points along with Sampdoria. Juventus, meanwhile, host Genoa on Sunday, a side they’ve struggled against in recent outings.

In this weekend’s biggest game, Inter Milan, who have suffered several stinging losses as of late, host Roma on Monday at the San Siro. Inter Milan are winless in their last four games after surging into first place in early December after a 0-0 draw against Juve. The string of losses, and elimination from the Coppa Italia against rivals AC Milan, has left coach Luciano Spalletti reeling and even fearing for his job. Roma sacked Spalletti last season despite the Giallorossi finishing second.

Roma and Lazio will make up their games later this month. Roma travel to Genoa to take on Sampdoria on Jan. 24 in a make-up game that had been scheduled on matchday 3 but delayed because of bad weather. Lazio will host Udinese the same day to make up their matchday 12 game that had also been suspended due to inclement weather.

Home/La Liga