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Imanol Aguacil and his Real Sociedad side are feeling the heat at the moment with just one win in their opening seven La Liga matches. La Real come into this one to face a similarly struggling giant of Spanish football in Valencia.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 28th September, 2024 - UK – 1:00pm / US ET – 9:00am / US PT – 6:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so Real Sociedad vs Valencia may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN+
REAL SOCIEDAD PREVIEW: UNDER PRESSURE
With one of the most intense pressing styles in the whole of European football, Real Sociedad have often found themselves flying mid-way through a campaign before drifting. This time around, though, La Real are really struggling at the start of this season and the pressure is very much on Imanol Aguacil.
The Basque club come into this one on the back of a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Riviera in midweek against Nice to kick off their UEFA Europa League season. That came after a goalless draw against newly-promoted Real Valladolid at the Jose Zorrilla last weekend to keep them hovering just above the relegation zone ahead of this weekend’s round of fixtures.
VALENCIA PREVIEW: STABILISING
Under the management of former player Ruben Baraja, Valencia majorly overperformed expectations to challenge for a top-half finish when the actual running of the club means relegation is always likelier than any sort of success and a relegation battle does seem quite likely this season.
That said, Ruben Baraja is once again doing a half-decent job of stabilising a crisis with Valencia coming into this weekend having suffered just one defeat in their previous four matches. Their most recent outing saw them share a goalless draw with Osasuna at Mestalla a few days after a 2-0 defeat of Girona at home.
REAL SOCIEDAD TEAM NEWS: KEY CONCERNS
Throughout this season, Real Sociedad have been dealing with plenty of injury issues but at least the likes of Igor Zubeldia and Mikel Oyarzabal have returned to full fitness.
They have now once again lost key winger Ander Barrenetxea due to injury and former Rennes defender Ham Traore is sidelined for the hosts.
PREDICTED XI (4-1-2-1-2): Alex Remiro; Jon Aramburu, Igor Zubeldia, Ageurd, Sergio Gomez; Martin Zubimendi; Sucic, Bryan Turrientes; Kubo; Becker, Oskarsson
UNAVAILABLE: Traore (Injured), Zakharyan (Injured), Ander Barrenetxea (Injured), Sadiq (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
VALENCIA TEAM NEWS: EXPERIENCE OUT
Some players, such as Hugo Duro, have returned for Valencia but experienced defensive players such as Jaume Domenech, Mouctar Diakhaby and Jose Luis Gaya remain unavailable.
Striker Rafa Mir remains suspended by the club due to a police investigation into an alleged rape committed by the player so he is also not in the picture.
PREDICTED XI (4-4-2): Mamardashvili; Correia, Cesar Tarrega, Cristhian Mosquera, Johan Vazquez; David Lopez, Barrenechea, Pepelu, Luis Rioja; Andre Almeida, Dani Gomez
UNAVAILABLE: Jaume Domenech (Injured), Diakhaby (Injured), Jose Luis Gaya (Injured), Rafa Mir (Disciplinary)
QUESTIONABLE:
REAL SOCIEDAD VS VALENCIA PREDICTION
Imanol Aguacil has a Real Sociedad side desperately searching for something. They finally found a half-decent performance against Nice in midweek but even their scorer from the night, Ander Barrenetxea, is now out injured. They host a Valencian side that come into this one with a bit of resilience and solitude to their play, despite such a poor start. The likelihood is a low confidence, low-scoring affair in the Basque Country.
REAL SOCIEDAD VS VALENCIA TIP: UNDER 2.5 GOALS