After gaining promotion to the second tier of Spanish football last season, FC Cartagena secured their place in the Segunda division for another year after picking up a solid 49 points during the 2020/21 campaign.
There aren’t any odds available just yet for the 2021/22 season, but how Efesé do will depend on who they can sign in the transfer market. If they can bring in a few new faces on loan from La Liga clubs, a top-half finish is a strong possibility.
Some of the best betting apps like bet365 and William Hill will include unique features as well as live game statistics and league tables, so you can keep up to date with everything on your mobile as the season progresses in Spain. It looks like it’ll be an exciting season, with many clubs expected to challenge for promotion as there’s not much difference between a lot of the sides.
To recap the last campaign, it started well with two wins and three draws in their first five fixtures. Fans were beginning to wonder if they would enjoy a year towards the top of the league, but then an away defeat at Girona brought them back down to earth. Although they won the next game 3-1 at home to Albacete at the end of October, Cartagena then won just twice until May, which saw them struggling at the wrong end of the table.
After a 2-1 away loss at Fuenlabrada, fans were expecting relegation, and it was impossible to see where the next three points were coming from. They had five games left and needed three wins. Could they really manage nine points from a possible 15 when they’d only picked up six from the last 69 available?
Castellon were the next visitors to Estadio Cartagonova. This is where the great escape began! A hard-fought 1-0 home win was followed up with a surprising 2-0 away win at future champions Espanyol and a further shock as they made it three wins in a row by beating playoff-chasing Almeria 3-2. A draw on the final day meant they had picked up 10 points from their last 15 to stay up!
So, after a promising start to the season, a terrible run from November to May nearly saw them relegated after just one year. However, they somehow managed to find their fighting spirit to recover and finish three points clear of the drop zone.
If Luis Carrión’s side can carry on where they left off at the end of the 2020/21 season, there’s no reason why they can’t compete in the top half of the table next year. As mentioned, it will come down to how well they perform in the transfer market, but some astute signings could well see them enjoy a great season ahead!
