The second round of LaLiga starts with a clash between Mallorca and Sevilla

With each LaLiga Santander team having played 19 matches, the first half of the season has been completed and FC Barcelona are winter champions. In 17 of the 26 seasons where Barca have topped the mid-stage, they have won the championship and will do so in 2022/23, but they have a tough test in matchday 20 as Sevilla FC will be coming to town.

That is one of many attractive matches taking place on matchday 20, while another Friday night is Athletic Club vs Cádiz CF. Although the Basques beat Cádiz CF 4-0 on the road earlier this season, the Andalusian side won 1-0 last time these sides met in Bilbao and they travel north with new confidence after a busy transfer deadline on which Cádiz CF signed quality players like Sergi Guardiola, Chris Ramos and Jorge Meré.

There are four games on Saturday, starting with RCD Espanyol vs CA Osasuna, where Catalan coach Diego Martínez takes on his former club. These are two teams whose best players are their forwards, so it should be a fun game as Joselu, Martin Braithwaite and co. Take on Ante Budimir, Chimy Ávila and Abde Ezzalzouli.

A pair of regional derbies will follow on Saturday, starting with Elche CF vs Villarreal CF. The home team failed to secure a single victory in the first half of the season, so we hope to do that here against another club from the Valencian Community. Then it’s Atlético de Madrid vs Getafe CF, as these two neighbors compete in the capital. Diego Simeone has never lost a game to Los Azulones as a coach, with 19 wins and three draws in 22 previous encounters, and he hopes to hold on to that formidable record.

On Saturday night, the Estadio Benito Villamarín is the central stage when Real Betis hosts RC Celta. Gabri Veiga gave the Galician side a 1-0 win against Real Betis earlier this season, so Los Verdiblancos will look to avenge that loss in front of their home fans.

Reigning champions Real Madrid will play early on Sunday, as they play at RCD Mallorca at 2:00 PM CET. Since the islanders were promoted back to LaLiga Santander in the summer of 2021, Real Madrid have thoroughly enjoyed the confrontation with RCD Mallorca. Since then, they have won all three games and have done so by scorelines of 6-1, 3-0 and 4-1. Los Blancos want another victory here that boosts morale, to keep the pressure on leader FC Barcelona.

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Girona FC vs Valencia CF is next, a replay of one of the opening weekend matches. On that occasion, Valencia CF won 1-0 to kick off the Gennaro Gattuso era, but much has changed at Mestalla since then and the Italian is no longer at the helm. The newly promoted side reacted well to that opening day loss and currently sit comfortably in the middle of the table, with positive results, playing good attacking football along the way. They hope to hold on to that when Los Che comes to visit on Sunday.

Next up is Real Sociedad vs Real Valladolid, which will be a tough test for the third-placed team in the table given that they could have as many as 10 injury absences for this match. That means that Imanol Alguacil will have to rely on some of his young up-and-coming talents, such as Robert Navarro, Pablo Marín or Jon Ander Olasagasti. The Basque coach knows it won’t be easy against Real Valladolid, who have improved with the arrival of quality players in January, such as Jovane Cabral, Darwin Machís and Cyle Larin.

Sunday evening at 21:00 CET, all eyes will be on Spotify Camp Nou, where FC Barcelona will host Sevilla FC. Barça boast an excellent home record against Los Nervionenses, whom they have not lost to at home in LaLiga Santander for over two decades, not since December 2002. Since then, Barça have won 16 and drawn three of their 19 league matches in Catalonia, scoring only at least 50 goals. With Robert Lewandowski back in the lead, Xavi’s side will be hoping to take another big win to cement their hold on first place.

On Monday, the last game of the round will take place when Rayo Vallecano hosts UD Almería. Both clubs have been bolstered by the signings of good centre-forwards over the past month, with Raúl de Tomás signing up for Rayo and Luis Suárez joining the Andalusians. A nighttime match in Vallecas always creates a special atmosphere, so this is a nice way to end Matchday 20.