Real Sociedad vs Sturm Graz

Spanish high-flyers Real Sociedad will be gunning for their second successive UEFA Europa League win when they meet lowly Sturm Graz at the Reale Arena.

Sociedad’s narrow 1-0 triumph at Sturm on Matchday 3 saw them get off the mark in the Europa League following back-to-back draws and move to the second in Group B. With third-placed PSV breathing down their necks, courtesy of a one-point gap, ‘La Real’ will draw inspiration from an unbeaten home record in all competitions this season (W4, D3). However, it’s worth noting that the Spaniards have returned a bag of mixed results across their three historical European clashes against Austrian sides (W1, D1, L1). Moreover, after winning their first two Europa League matches at home, Imanol Alguacil’s men have only picked up one victory in their last seven outings at the Reale Arena in the competition (D3, L3). Entertainment has been relatively sparse at this venue in 2021/22 so far, with none of Sociedad’s seven competitive games here featuring more than two goals.

On the other hand, a 4-1 home thrashing to PSV on Matchday 2 sandwiched by a pair of 1-0 defeats to Monaco and Sociedad leaves Sturm rooted to the foot of the table. With their chances of progressing into the knock-outs already looking slim, the Austrian side will at least hope to improve their humiliating European record against Spanish adversaries. They have lost all five such match-ups so far, scoring two goals while conceding 19 in return! Adding to a long list of worries, Sturm have lost four of their last five away fixtures in European football (W1), drawing a blank in each of those defeats. More recently, ‘Die Schwoazn’ have lost two consecutive road trips in domestic competitions, conceding 3+ goals on each occasion.