Arguably the standout game in the next set of La Liga fixtures will take place in San Sebastian on Sunday night as Real Sociedad welcome Villarreal for what should be a fascinating affair.
Sociedad are currently top of the table with 23 points to show from their first 10 matches of the season, while Villarreal occupy third, having collected 19 points from their 10 games in 2020-21.
Match preview
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Sociedad's league form this season has been excellent, winning seven, drawing two and losing one of their 10 matches to collect 23 points, leaving them three points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid in the table.
The Basque outfit are the highest scorers in La Liga this term with 21, while they have the second-best defensive record behind Atletico, having only conceded four times.
Imanol Alguacil's team are actually on a run of six straight league victories, including a 1-0 win away to Cadiz last weekend, with Alexander Isak scoring the only goal of the contest at Estadio Ramon de Carranza.
Sociedad currently have a battle on their hands to reach the last-32 stage of the Europa League, though, as a goalless draw with AZ on Thursday night left them second in Group F on seven points.
La Real's league form has been even more impressive taking into account their European commitments, but they could face an incredibly tough examination this weekend from a strong Villarreal side.
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Like Sociedad, Villarreal's league form this season has been excellent, picking up 19 points from their 10 matches to sit third in the table, four points behind their opponents on Sunday.
The Yellow Submarine are unbeaten in La Liga since a four-goal defeat at Barcelona on September 27, while they have taken seven points from their last three matches, including a point against Real Madrid last weekend.
Unai Emery's side were also in Europa League action on Thursday night, drawing 1-1 with Maccabi Tel Aviv to leave themselves top of Group I and in a strong position to reach the round of 32.
Both Villarreal and Sociedad have played a lot of football in the early weeks of the campaign, and it will be fascinating to see how many changes the two managers make for this match.
El Submarino Amarillo have won two of the last three league meetings between the two sides, but Sociedad recorded a 2-1 victory when they last locked horns in July.
Real Sociedad La Liga form: WWWWWW
Real Sociedad form (all competitions): LWWWWD
Villarreal La Liga form: DWDWWD
Villarreal form (all competitions): WWWWDD
Team News
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Sociedad are sweating on the fitness of key midfielder David Silva, but there is a hope that the Spaniard will overcome a muscular problem in time for the contest.
Jon Guridi is also a doubt with a muscular issue, while Asier Illarramendi and Luca Sangalli will definitely be unavailable for selection on Sunday night.
The home side will be boosted by the return of Robin Le Normand from suspension, though, and the Frenchman should start alongside Aritz Elustondo in the middle of the defence.
There are not expected to be any surprises in the final third, meanwhile, with Isak likely to lead the line with support from Adnan Januzaj and Mikel Oyarzabal, leaving Willian Jose on the bench.
As for Villarreal, Alberto Moreno remains on the sidelines with a knee injury, while Paco Alcacer is unlikely to be available for the Yellow Submarine.
Emery will make changes from the side that started in the Europa League on Thursday night, with Dani Parejo, Gerard Moreno, Vicente Iborra, Mario Gaspar and Raul Albiol all in line to return.
Samuel Chukwueze could earn a role in the final third of the field at the expense of Carlos Bacca, while summer arrival Pervis Estupinan is pushing to feature at left-back.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Zaldua, Elustondo, Le Normand, Monreal; D Silva, Guevara, Merino; Januzaj, Isak, Oyarzabal
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Asenjo; Gaspar, Albiol, Torres, Estupinan; Parejo, Iborra, Trigueros; M Gomez, Moreno, Chukwueze
We say: Real Sociedad 1-1 Villarreal
This has all of the makings of a very interesting contest in Spain's top flight, and we are finding it very difficult to separate the two sides. Neither manager will have had long to prepare for the match due to European commitments, and we are expecting the points to be shared on Sunday night.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Sociedad win with a probability of 43.56%. A win for Villarreal had a probability of 29.4% and a draw had a probability of 27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Sociedad win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.74%) and 2-0 (8.15%). The likeliest Villarreal win was 0-1 (9.36%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.78%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.8% likelihood.
