Learner’s Podcast – Week 36 – Relegation Battles: Part I

On this week's show, we look at the teams that are struggling at the bottom of the tables in Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A. We also have anotehr English for Football phrase for you to check out. For more English practice try our... Worksheets and transcripts Vocabulary lists Online quizzes and crossword puzzles Weekly blogs from our football-crazy writers in fansa€™ forum Transcripts The relegation Battles in La Liga and Serie A When we talk about La Liga here on languagecaster we usually focus on the battle for the title but on this week's report we look at the bottom of the table to find out which teams are desperately battling to avoid the drop. Now, way back in September I asked three Spanish football experts to predict which teams would struggle this year in La Liga and here is what they said. DF: My final question, which team do you think will not do very well in La Liga this year? Which team maybe will go down? Pim: I think Mallorca is going to go down this year because they have a weak team Pablo: Murcia ... ita€™s the first time in La Liga. Jon: I think that Valladolid and maybe Murcia. So Murcia, Valladolid and Mallorca were all tipped to go down but let's have a look at the current standings to see if our experts really know what they are talking about. Levante are rooted to the bottom with only 19 points but the club has been plagued by financial and board room difficulties all season so no real surprise there. Ten points ahead of them are Murcia who look as if they will join Levante in the second division next season. But who will go down with them? Well, as we have heard at the start of the show the biggest surprise is Real Zaragoza who, despite finishing 6th last year, find themselves three points adrift in the relegation zone. They have only 7 games to save their season but with only 7 points separating the next seven clubs, including Deportivo, Getafe and Valencia , it is all to play for. So, My tip to join Murcia and Levante? I am going for Zaragoza to avoid the drop with Recreativo de Huelva slipping into La Segunda for next year. Thanks Damian, And what about Serie A, who is going to slip into Seria B this season? Well first of all we have to remember that some big teams came up last year - Juventus and Napoli, and they were joined by Genoa. This is what an Italian fan had to say at the start of the season. Fan: This year it could be something like Genoa and possibly Napoli - I hope napoli is going to go down. Well, it looks as though he got that wrong with both genoa and Napoli sitting comfortable in the top half of Serie A. He also tipped AC Milan for the title. Well, we all make mistakes. So what is the situation at the moment. Well, ita€™s quite an a€˜excitinga€™ relegation battle. Wea€™ve got Reggina bottom on 27 points, but no fewer than six teams within five points. But wea€™ve got three teams on 29, just two above the Calabrain team, Reggina. They are Cagliari, Empoli and Livorno. The Sardinian team, Cagliari are showing some fight, losing just one of the last five to AC Milan. Considering they have also drawn with big teams Roma and Sampdoria, Ia€™m tipping them to escape the drop. Cagliari meet Livorno in a crucial encounter, and I expect Livorno to continue their dismal form and lose to their relegation rivals. And what about Empoli? They could be in trouble as in the last six games they meet three teams from the drop zone. It will be difficult to get points. On the other hand, Parma have a tough run in on paper - Juve, Fiorentina, Inter - but the Italian league is notorious for strange results at the end of the season. In Serie B next season - Reggina, Livorno and Empoli. Next week languagecaster takes a look at relegation battles in the Bundesliga and the Premier League in England.