Real Sociedad vs Villarreal prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-02-22 20:00.
Real Sociedad ended their five-match winless streak (D3, L2) by beating Mallorca 2-1 on Sunday, and while there may have been some luck about it as their opponents finished proceedings with ten men, manager Imanol Alguacil was having none of it. He insisted that his side deserved the victory, sealed by an injury-time winner which helped keep their bid for European qualification on track.
Although there’s a difficult Champions League last-16 fixture on the horizon against Paris Saint-Germain after losing the first leg 2-0 in France, La Real can’t take their eye off their La Liga commitments. They need to make up ground on the top five, having lost touch with them during that aforementioned poor run, and they could do so here as they aim to secure a back-to-back home H2H victories over upcoming opponents Villarreal for the first time ever!
However, as Villarreal have drawn four of their last five league encounters, winning the other one 5-3 at Barcelona, they now possess the division’s longest unbeaten sequence behind Real Madrid’s 19-game streak. After a slow start to the season, they’re beginning to build momentum and can perhaps now start thinking about a potential top-half finish with their relegation fears easing.
But loftier ambitions might depend on the Yellow Submarine overcoming inconsistency on the road in La Liga (W3, D4, L5), perhaps best illustrated by drawing 1-1 with mid-table Alavés the away outing after that remarkable triumph over Barcelona. At least they have a strong recent H2H record at the Reale Arena (W3, D1, L1), which might tip the balance in their favour here as they look to go six league matches unbeaten for the first time since last May.
Players to watch: Mikel Merino could be a threat for Real Sociedad late on as his injury-time winner against Mallorca was his second consecutive goal to arrive in second-half stoppage time. No player though has scored more goals in this fixture than Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno, with four of those six arriving before the 40th minute.
Hot stat: A league-high 80% (20/25) of Villarreal’s La Liga matches this term have seen both teams score.