Real Sociedad will host Athletic Club at the Reale Arena on Saturday night in a La Liga matchup between two teams vying for a spot in the next season's European competition.
The two teams are detached by four positions in the league standings.
Sociedad has managed to place in the top six in each of the last two campaigns, and with 10 victories in their last 16 games, they are in a far better position to hold onto their Champions League berth this year.
They have had to compromise for a place in the Europa League in the last two seasons after losing out on the top four.
Real Betis, who are now in fourth place, have lost two more games than Sociedad, who enters this game four points ahead of them while being six points behind Real Madrid, who are currently in second.
After the El Clasico giants, Sociedad holds the league's best defensive record with 17 goals surrendered in 16 games.
Furthermore, among the teams behind La Liga's top two all-time champions, only Athletic Club and Girona in 12th place have scored more goals.
Since La Liga play restarted following the World Cup break, Imanol Alguacil's team has gone on an incredible run of form, winning all four games while recording four shutouts.
The winning streak began with a convincing 5-0 Copa del Rey victory over Coria and continued with a tight 1-0 Copa del Rey round-of-32 victory against Logrones.
They have now prepared for a showdown versus Mallorca that will take place around 166.
In addition, Sociedad won 2-0 decisions against Almera and Osasuna in La Liga contests to maintain their third-place standing.
Athletic Club has drawn both of its La Liga games since making a comeback, going scoreless in draws against Real Betis and Osasuna.
It retains the team in seventh place in the Spanish premier division, only two points behind Real Betis in fourth. Bilbao's greatest opportunity to qualify for the Champions League will be with a victory in this match.
They also breezed through the Copa del Rey round of 16 after defeating Sestao 1-0 in late December and Eldense 6-1 away from home in the round of 32 nine days ago.
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