Two teams that will expect to be in the mix for a top-four spot in La Liga this season will lock horns at Reale Arena on Saturday evening, with Real Sociedad welcoming Villarreal.
The home side are currently seventh in Spain’s top flight, boasting 13 points from their opening seven matches, while Villarreal are eighth, one point behind their opponents ahead of this weekend’s contest.
Real Sociedad strengthened their grip on top spot in their Europa League group on Thursday evening courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol, with David Silva and Aritz Elustondo on the scoresheet for the Blue and Whites, who are three points clear of second-placed Manchester United in Group E.
The Basque outfit have now won each of their last four games in all competitions, including two in the league, beating Espanyol 2-1 and Girona 5-3 in their last two fixtures in Spain’s top flight.
Real Sociedad have won four, drawn one and lost two of their seven La Liga games this season to collect 13 points, which has left them in seventh spot in the table, two points behind fourth-placed Real Betis.
Imanol Alguacil’s side have finished sixth, fifth and sixth in their last three league campaigns, with their last top-four spot coming in 2012-13, and they will be expecting to challenge high up the division once again, while a run deep into the Europa League cannot be ruled out.
Real Sociedad have only actually lost one of their last five La Liga games against Villarreal and recorded a 2-1 victory over the Yellow Submarine in their last meeting in May.
Villarreal, though, beat Real Sociedad 3-1 in the corresponding match between the two sides last term, and the visitors will also enter this game off the back of a strong European win.
Indeed, Unai Emery’s side scored five unanswered goals against Austria Vienna in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening to cement their spot at the top of Group C with nine points.
Villarreal are certainly one the favourites to win the European competition this term, but they have struggled to find consistency in La Liga thus far this season despite only losing one of their seven games and conceding just twice, which is the second-best defensive record behind Barcelona.
The Yellow Submarine are eighth in the table ahead of the next set of fixtures, one point behind seventh-placed Real Sociedad and three behind Real Betis in fourth.
Emery’s team finished seventh in Spain’s top flight last term, which has to go down as a slight disappointment, but they managed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2021-22.
Real Sociedad La Liga form:
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Real Sociedad form (all competitions):
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Villarreal La Liga form:
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Villarreal form (all competitions):
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We say: Real Sociedad 1-1 Villarreal
Neither side will have had long to prepare for this match due to their European commitments, and both could be missing some important players this weekend. A draw would be seen as a relatively good result for both sides, and we can see a low-scoring contest taking place on Sunday evening.