How La Liga works
Twenty clubs in the first division, twenty-two in the second, three points for a win and a table that decides titles, European places, promotion and relegation.
Key points
- La Liga has 20 clubs and 38 matchdays; Segunda División has 22 clubs and 42 matchdays.
- A win is worth three points, a draw one and a defeat none.
- The bottom three in La Liga go down; the top two in Segunda go up, plus the winner of a play-off between 3rd and 6th.
- When clubs finish level on points, head-to-head comes first, not overall goal difference.
The format: everyone plays everyone, home and away
La Liga (Primera División, branded LaLiga EA Sports) brings together twenty clubs that face each other twice, once at each ground: 38 matchdays between August and May. Segunda División (LaLiga Hypermotion) has twenty-two clubs and therefore 42 matchdays. Both are run by the Spanish professional football league, known as LaLiga.
Each win is worth three points, a draw one and a defeat none. The club with most points wins the league; there are no title play-offs. Follow the live tables in the La Liga standings and the Segunda standings.
What each place means
The table is split into zones: the champions and European places at the top, relegation at the bottom. European places vary slightly from year to year, because they depend on who wins the Copa del Rey and on the coefficient earned by Spanish clubs in Europe.
What each place means in La Liga
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 1–4 Champions League
- 5 Europa League
- 6 Conference League
- 18–20 Relegation to Segunda
Promotion: two automatic places and a play-off
In Segunda, the top two are promoted automatically. Third to sixth play a play-off: semi-finals 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, then a final, all over two legs with the second leg at the higher-placed club. If a tie is level on aggregate there are no penalties: the club that finished higher in the league goes through.
The bottom four in Segunda drop to Primera Federación, the third tier, which is run by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) rather than LaLiga.
What each place means in Segunda División
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 1–2 Automatic promotion
- 3–6 Promotion play-off
- 19–22 Relegation to Primera Federación
Reserve sides cannot share a division with their first team
A B team cannot play in the same division as its senior side. If a reserve team finishes in a promotion place to La Liga, it stays down and the place passes to the next club in the table.
How ties on points are broken
In Spain the first criterion is not overall goal difference, as in the Premier League, but the head-to-head record. It is set by the RFEF General Regulations:
- Head-to-headIf two clubs are level, the goal difference across the two matches between them counts first.
- Overall differenceIf still level, goal difference over the whole season.
- Goals scoredThen, which club has scored more league goals.
- Fair playAs a last resort, the sportsmanship ranking (fewer cards).
When three or more clubs are level, a mini-league is drawn up using only the matches between them: points first, then goal difference within that mini-league. That is why provisional tables during the season sometimes sort by goal difference until both meetings have been played.
European places
Usually the top four play in the Champions League, fifth in the Europa League and sixth in the Conference League. The Copa del Rey winner gets a Europa League place; if it has already qualified through the league, that place passes down the table. Since 2024 UEFA has also given an extra Champions League place to the two associations whose clubs did best in Europe the previous season, so some years Spain has five clubs in the Champions League.
Can your club make it? Do the maths with the points calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many matchdays does La Liga have?
The first division has 38 (20 clubs, home and away) and Segunda 42 (22 clubs).
What if a promotion play-off tie ends level?
No penalties: the club that finished higher in the regular season goes through.
How many European places are there?
It depends on Spain's UEFA coefficient and on who wins the Copa del Rey; the table marks them in colour each season.