Almería's Two Faces: Lethal Up Top, Leaky at the Back
Rubi's Almería are among Segunda's top scorers but their defence is a shambles. Can they fix it in time to seal promotion?
Rubi’s Almería are one of the most exciting sides in Segunda División — and one of the most frustrating. Fifty goals scored, bags of quality going forward, yet a defensive record that’d make your eyes water.
The Good Stuff First
Let’s give credit where it’s due. Almería’s attack is genuinely top drawer. Only Racing de Santander (52 goals) have scored more in Liga Hypermotion this season, with Almería just two behind on 50. The next closest? League leaders Castellón, sitting on 44. So in terms of pure firepower, it’s basically a two-horse race at the top of the charts, and Almería are very much in it.
That attacking output is the main reason they’ve spent so long hovering around the playoff spots. Without it, they’d be nowhere near the conversation.
The Bit That’ll Keep You Up at Night
Here’s where it gets a bit grim, though. For all that quality going forward, Almería have conceded 38 goals in 27 games — the same number as Andorra and Zaragoza, and only five fewer than bottom side Mirandés. Four of those teams with similar defensive records are sitting in the bottom five. That tells you everything.
- Only six clean sheets all season
- Their goals conceded tally is more befitting a relegation scrap than a promotion push
- Racing de Santander (35 conceded) are the only side with a comparable attacking return who’ve also been shipping goals
Why They’re Stuck in Playoff Purgatory
This is basically the whole story in a nutshell. Almería have only occupied a direct promotion spot in one of the 27 matchdays played so far. One. Meanwhile, Castellón lead the table despite scoring 12 fewer goals — because they’ve conceded significantly less. The goal difference table mirrors the actual standings almost perfectly, which tells you the maths is pretty unforgiving.
The defence isn’t just costing them points on individual matchdays — it’s actively stopping them from building any sustained momentum in the automatic promotion places.
A Historical Lifeline?
Now, it’s not all doom and gloom. Almería are clinging to a rather tasty historical precedent here. Very few sides over the past 25 years have gone up automatically while conceding 45 or more goals — but one of them was Almería themselves, under Unai Emery back in 2006/07, when they went up despite shipping 49. So it can be done. Whether Rubi’s lot have what it takes to repeat that trick remains the big question.
Bottom Line
Almería are a proper entertaining watch — end-to-end, goals galore, never dull. But if they’re serious about going up as one of the top two rather than sweating through the playoffs, something has to give at the back. The goals will keep coming. The question is whether they can stop giving them away quite so freely.