Espanyol and Real Mallorca set the early pace in 2020/21 Segunda Division season | OneFootball

The 2019/20 La Liga season ended with eventual relegation for Espanyol, Real Mallorca and Leganes, however, all three have made a strong start to the 2020/21 Segunda Division campaign.

Espanyol and Real Mallorca are the current front two in Spain’s second tier, with Leganes in fourth place, as the trio aim to ensure an immediate return to the top-flight in 2021.

However, the story of a possible Espanyol v Real Mallorca title battle in the coming months will contain a fascinating sub plot, after Espanyol boss Vicente Moreno opted to swap Mallorca for Catalonia following their relegation this summer.

Mallorca were confident of holding onto the coach that had brought them up into the big time in 2019, but he moved to the RCDE Stadium with the lure of restoring their top-flight status.

Former Rayo Vallecano pair Raul De Tomas and Adri Embarba have been central to Espanyol’s early season dominance, with Moreno set to resist any potential January transfer interest in De Tomas, despite links to the Premier League as per Be Soccer.

Leganes’ start to 2020/21 has not been as impressive as their fellow relegated sides, however, new boss Jose Luis Marti will be confident of mounting a promotion push in 2021.

The Segunda Division title race looks set to be a nail biter, potentially including five teams, and with all games available  to an online international audience, it will be essential to get YouTube views in before the end of the year and pick your favourite second tier side.

Down at the bottom of the table, Real Zaragoza and Albacete’s poor starts have put them in early danger of being sucked into a relegation battle if they cannot arrest their slides before the end of 2020.

Alcorcon look to be already doomed to relegation after picking up just four points from their first 11 league games of the season.

If Leganes fancy their own chances of securing at least a play-off spot, they could face a real battle with a group of sides that have experienced consistent promotion heartbreak in recent seasons.

Rayo Vallecano and Fuenlabrada both controversially missed out on a play-off place last season, following the latter’s postponed game with Deportivo la Coruna due to widespread Covid-19 tests.

Almeria have also looked very positive in the first weeks of 2020/21, after losing in their play-off semi final in the summer, but losing finalists Girona will need to improve their consistency to put together a challenge for a hard fought Top Six finish.