Espanyol vs Real Sociedad prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-08-23 19:30.
[p]A 1-0 away defeat to Real Valladolid on opening weekend was a far-from ideal way for Espanyol to announce their return to La Liga. They’ll feel they have a decent chance of bouncing back in their home opener against Real Sociedad given they’ve won three of the last five home H2Hs (L2), but they’ll have to shape up better than they did in the first half against Valladolid – one manager Manolo González described as “one to forget”. [/p]
[p]But after their last three home league games in La Liga saw them concede the opener before the 25th minute, González may again be left rueing a slow start if his side don’t emerge victorious. The omens are firmly against them in doing so too, as Espanyol haven’t won their home La Liga opener since 2018/19, failing to win all three since (D1, L2). [/p]
[p]Sociedad will be hoping to stretch that miserable record, and they too will have to overcome opening day adversity as they were beaten 2-1 by Rayo Vallecano. It’s not just on the pitch where Sociedad are facing difficulty, it’s off it too, as transfer rumblings surrounding Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi continue to dominate the headlines, although the latter did play on opening day and score their only goal. [/p]
[p]Hitting the road probably even enhances their hopes of getting off the mark for the campaign, as last season they were one of just two sides not to collect more points at home than on the road. They have a little added incentive to avoid defeat here too, as having lost their last two La Liga games, a third successive league defeat would mark their worst top-flight losing run since December 2021. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Watch out for Javi Puado having the first say on proceedings as his last five scoring appearances saw him net the game opener. Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo was influential when his side won both H2Hs in 2022/23, with the Japanese star involved in three of the five goals Sociedad amassed (G1, A2). [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Sociedad have won more matches against Espanyol (64) than any other side in their history.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Chris Wilson[/i][/p]