LaLiga Matchday 20 Preview: Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad dominates; Real Betis seek to end winless run in derby

With 19 rounds of the 2023/24 LALIGA EA SPORTS season completed, we're at the halfway stage of the competition and it could not be tighter at the top, with Real Madrid and Girona FC tied on 48 points and with FC Barcelona lurking behind them. It's now time for the second half of the campaign, which begins this weekend.

The Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán will host the first fixture of Matchday 20, when Sevilla FC meet Deportivo Alavés on Friday night. Given that their first meeting of this season was a dramatic 4-3 victory for the Basque side, this rematch promises goals and should be a fun way to commence the weekend's action.

Four fixtures will be held throughout Saturday, the first of which is UD Las Palmas vs Villarreal CF. Both teams finished the first half of the campaign with a defeat before suffering Copa del Rey exits last weekend, so they'll each be determined to put their best foot forward at the Estadio de Gran Canaria.

RCD Mallorca vs RC Celta follows and this is a big game in the relegation battle, even at this midway point of the season. Rafa Benítez's side have just moved out of the bottom three for the first time since September and could even leapfrog RCD Mallorca with a win on the island on Saturday.

At 18:30 CET, all eyes will be on San Mamés in Bilbao, for this season's second Basque Derby between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad. La Real won the first meeting by a convincing 3-0 scoreline, so Athletic Club are desperate for revenge and they also feel confident that they can take the three points. That's because Ernesto Valverde's side are in excellent form and finished the first half of the campaign in fourth position, six points ahead of sixth-placed Real Sociedad. It should be a fiercely