Real Sociedad will be bidding to record just their second La Liga victory of the 2024-25 campaign when they head to Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Saturday afternoon to tackle Real Valladolid.
The visitors have struggled in the early stages of the new season, only picking up four points from six matches to sit 16th in the table, while Real Valladolid are 17th, having collected four points from their opening five games.
Match preview
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Real Valladolid made the perfect start to life back in the top flight, recording a 1-0 victory over Espanyol on home soil, but they have only managed to pick up one point from their last four league fixtures.
Indeed, Paulo Pezzolano's side, who finished second in the Segunda Division last term, lost 3-0 to Real Madrid in their second La Liga match of the season, before drawing 0-0 at home to Leganes.
The White and Violets were then beaten 7-0 by Barcelona at the end of August, before suffering a 3-1 loss to Celta Vigo last weekend, with a total of four points from five games leaving them down in 17th position.
Real Valladolid actually did the double over Real Sociedad during the 2022-23 campaign, including a 1-0 victory on home soil, while they have lost just one of their last four league games against Saturday's opponents.
Pezzolano's team have the worst goal difference in La Liga this season, scoring twice and conceding 13, but they will be welcoming a Real Sociedad outfit that have also struggled in 2024-25.
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The visitors have won one, drawn one and lost four of their six league games this season to collect four points, which has left them in 16th spot in the table, already seven points off the top four.
Real Sociedad suffered a 2-1 defeat to Rayo Vallecano in their first match of the season, but they managed to bounce back away to Espanyol, beating the Catalan team 1-0 to put three points on the board.
Imanol Alguacil's team have only managed to pick up one point from their last four games, though, losing to Alaves, Real Madrid and Mallorca, in addition to sharing the spoils with Getafe.
The White and Blues finished sixth in La Liga last season, meaning that they will play in the league phase of this season's Europa League, with their opener coming against Nice next week.
Real Sociedad cannot afford to switch their focus away from the league, though, as they are already losing ground on the top four, and the supporters will be demanding a response from their side this weekend.
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Team News
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Real Valladolid will again be without the services of Javi Sanchez and Anuar Tuhami due to injury problems, while Mario Martin is suspended following his red card against Celta last time out.
There will be changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against the Sky Blues, with Raul Moro's goal off the bench set to earn him a spot in the first XI.
Victor Meseguer is also pushing to be introduced in the middle of midfield, but head coach Pezzolano is likely to keep faith with a 5-3-2 formation, with Juanmi Latasa set to lead the attack.
As for Real Sociedad, Hamari Traore, Brais Mendez, Arsen Zakharyan and Urko Gonzalez will once again miss the match due to injury problems.
Head coach Alguacil is unlikely to ring the changes for this match, but there is expected to be a starting role in a wide area for Takefusa Kubo, who was introduced for the final 30 minutes of the loss to Mallorca.
Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored Spain's winner in the Euro 2024 final against England, is again expected to feature through the middle for Real Sociedad, with Sheraldo Becker and Umar Sadiq likely to start on the bench.
Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:
Hein; L Perez, Comert, Ozkacar, Rosa, Ndiaye; K Perez, Meseguer, Amallah; Latasa, Moro
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Elustondo, Zubeldia, Aguerd, Munoz; S Gomez, Benat, Zubimendi, Sucic, Kubo; Oyarzabal
We say: Real Valladolid 1-2 Real Sociedad
This is a very tricky match to call, as Real Sociedad have been poor in the early stages of the season. Real Valladolid's defence are conceding goals at an alarming rate, though, and we are backing the visitors to navigate their way to a very important three points on Saturday afternoon.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
