Dates: November 10, 2024
Time: 10:00 p.m.
Location: San Sebastian, Real Arena
Competition: La Liga 2024-25, day 13
Confrontation: Real Sociedad (San Sebastian) vs Barcelona
Where to watch: RAINBOWVolia TV
Disciplinary issues: None
Injuries: Amari Traore, Naif Aguerd, Pablo Marín – Marc-André ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia, Marc Bernal, Ferran Torres
Doubts: Benyat Turriéntes, Ander Barrenetxea – Pau Cubarsi
Royal Society
The “Churi-urdin” find themselves this season in a contrasting state of stability. It was only recently that the Basques managed to record back-to-back victories for the first time, with narrow away successes against Girona and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv. However, their home game against Osasuna was a missed opportunity to claim a third successive victory, as Imanol Alguacil’s men lost their way again at the Real Arena, losing 0-2. Real Sociedad’s home form is quite dire, with only one win (a 3-0 triumph against a struggling Valencia), one draw (a late equalizer against Atletico), and five defeats against Rayo Vallecano, Alaves , Real Madrid, Anderlecht and Osasuna.
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This past week, the “Churi-urdin” suffered another setback in the Europa League, losing 1-2 against Viktoria Plzen. A crucial goal was conceded in the dying moments after a needless defensive error. With only four points accumulated, La Real currently finds itself in an embarrassing position, in 25th place, far from the playoff zone. There are three home games remaining against Ajax, Dynamo kyiv and PAOK, but given recent statistics, these matches do not bring much hope. Additionally, at the end of January, the Basques will travel to Rome for a clash against Lazio. On the one hand, the upcoming schedule is not too difficult, so there is still room for improvement, but significant effort will be required — potentially even at the expense of some La Liga matches.
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In the league, Real Sociedad’s performance is not entirely bad but remains significantly below expectations. They are four points from the European qualifying places, six from 4th, and enjoy a five-point lead above the relegation zone. After the October international break, the “Churi-urdin” achieved a minimal away victory against Girona, followed by the mentioned home defeat against Osasuna, then a 2-0 away victory at Sevilla , taking advantage of the opponent’s numerous injury concerns. Takefusa Kubo scored the first goal in the 34th minute. Notably, La Real have only won four games in La Liga this season, with the winning goals in three of those games scored by the Japanese winger. Midway through the second half, the visitors were awarded a penalty, which was perfectly converted by team captain Mikel Oyarzabal.
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Barcelona
There is no need to elaborate further on Hansi Flick’s team. The ‘Blaugrana’ are currently in superb form (as a team, despite the club’s many internal problems) and look formidable, perhaps only rivaled by Arne Slot’s Liverpool. Yes, the Catalan giants have had a few missteps — a loss to Monaco in their Champions League opener and another loss to Osasuna (2-4) in late September when a lack of “fuel” due to injuries assigned them in the middle of a busy schedule. Aside from that, they were flawless in the remaining 14 games of the season, with Flick winning two of La Liga’s three Coach of the Month trophies, and each member of the attacking trio — Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski — receiving successively Player of the Month distinctions.
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Since this setback in Pamplona, Barcelona have not looked back, stringing together seven consecutive victories, only one of which was won by less than three goals. They were lucky last weekend in the derby against Espanyol. The league leaders scored three goals in the first half but came out for the second half only to control the game and preserve their energy for the next encounters. The “Pericos” managed to score twice, but only one goal was accepted, the others canceled for marginal offside positions. Creating artificial offsides has become something of a trademark of Flick’s team. Recall, for example, the El Clásico, where Kylian Mbappe was flagged offside at least seven times (his nickname ‘Agent 007’ fits perfectly in this context).
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Barcelona offers a golden victory against Atlético Madrid
The Catalans humiliated their arch-rival and only serious title contender, Real Madrid, with a 4-0 thrashing at the Santiago Bernabeu. A few days earlier, Bayern Munich suffered a similar fate, losing 4-1 in Barcelona to Flick’s current men. Earlier this season, Barcelona recorded a 5-0 victory against Young Boys, a 3-0 success against Alaves, and a 5-1 defeat against Sevilla. As mentioned, they showed competence against Espanyol, and this week the ‘Blaugrana’ triumphed 5-2 in Belgrade against Red Star. Thus, the leaders of La Liga are heading to San Sebastian in excellent spirits and in great shape.
Real Sociedad vs Barcelona: Predicted teams
Real Sociedad will be significantly handicapped without their starting right-back Amari Traore due to a serious injury, while reserves Pablo Marín is also absent. Additionally, it seems almost certain that senior central defender Naif Aguerd will not play due to a worrying injury that occurred in Plzen. The participation of midfielder Benyat Turriéntes and winger Ander Barrenetxea is also uncertain. As for Barcelona, they will be without their usual starting goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, central defender Ronald Araujo, versatile players Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen, midfielder Marc Bernal, and winger Ferran Torres. Hansi Flick could also choose to rest young central defender Pau Cubarsi, who suffered a head injury in the previous match. However, this remains preliminary information, and Pau is still booked for the match.
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Real Sociedad vs Barcelona: Author’s prediction
No need to think too much about this prediction. Barcelona are in excellent form and significantly stronger than Real Sociedad, who usually struggle at home and have not won against the ‘Blaugrana’ on their home soil since April 2016, losing six of the last eight meetings. Although Sociedad put up decent resistance against Real Madrid and Atletico, their match against the ‘Blancos’ being the best of the season, they however suffered a frustrating 0-2 defeat and barely salvaged a point against Atletico at the end of this match. At the moment, Barcelona are simply too formidable for the “Churi-urdin”.
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