Real Sociedad vs Valencia

Real Sociedad and Valencia are set to trade tackles at the Reale Arena in a high-stakes La Liga showdown. 

Despite slumping to a disheartening 2-0 defeat at Barcelona earlier this week, Real Sociedad are on the verge of securing a top-seven finish and, in turn, a fifth consecutive season in European football. Beating Valencia would do the trick, but that could be a huge ask, considering Imanol Alguacil’s men have only won one of their last seven La Liga H2Hs (D4, L2). But that solitary success came in the reverse fixture at Mestalla, giving La Real a chance to complete their first league double over Valencia since 2016/17. Worryingly for Sociedad fans, Alguacil’s troops have only claimed one win since the turn of April (D2, L2), courtesy of a 2-0 home victory against Las Palmas earlier in May. That triumph ended their two-game winless home league run (D1, L1).

In the meantime, Valencia might have found a way out of a disastrous three-game losing streak at the weekend, but a dismal 0-0 home draw against Rayo Vallecano derailed their European quest. That result moved them within six points of seventh-placed Sociedad ahead of a traditionally pleasant trip to San Sebastian. Indeed, Valencia have gone unbeaten in five of their last six away league H2Hs (W3, D2). Against this backdrop, four of Los Che’s six most recent La Liga road trips have ended in defeat (W2). With five of those six results (wins/losses) seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet, breaking the deadlock could determine the fate of this contest.