Real Sociedad vs Sevilla prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-11-25 15:15.
Whilst the rest of the squad who werenât on international duty had a weekend off, Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil and his staff worked tirelessly to get Kieran Tierney and AndrĂ© Silva back from injury to bolster their pursuit of a top-four finish. On the basis of their unbeaten La Liga (LL) season record of W5, D3 against clubs to start the 14th round beneath them in the standings, a trilogy of fixtures against bottom-half clubs Sevilla, Osasuna and Villarreal appears a fantastic opportunity to apply pressure to the early top-four pacesetters.
A run of four consecutive LL wins at home came to an end earlier in the month with a 1-0 loss to Barcelona. A stoppage-time goal in that game once again left him frustrated with the poor way that Sociedad are closing out LL fixtures this season, having dropped points against AtlĂ©tico Madrid (L 2-1), Rayo Vallecano (D 2-2) and Barcelona with late goals conceded. Most recently they cancelled out last-placed AlmerĂaâs 76th-minute equaliser with two subsequent goals (W 3-1), but need to make a habit of holding on against stronger opposition.
This is therefore one matchup that Sociedad need to be particularly wary of, as of Sevillaâs five consecutive LL draws prior to the international break, they closed out the scoring on four occasions, including three equalisers beyond the 75th minute. Draws arenât doing much to move them comfortably away from the relegation zone however, nor vindicating the decision to switch managers mid-season.
New head coach Diego Alonso is yet to enjoy a single clean sheet, let alone a competitive victory against top-flight opposition (D4, L2). On that defensive note, he received some good news during the break when welcoming starting goalkeeper Ărjan Nyland back to training. He could be pivotal in Sevilla ending a sequence of seven consecutive LL away games without a win (D4, L3), which most notably includes a 2-1 defeat at Sociedad to round out last season.
Players to watch: Sociedadâs Brais MĂ©ndez returns from suspension looking to score in a third consecutive H2H. Sevilla veteran Ivan RakitiÄ recorded second-half equalisers in two of Sevillaâs last three LL games, but of the nine clubs he has faced in at least 20 competitive matches, his lowest goal scoring output is against Sociedad – one goal in 22 appearances!
Hot stat: The last eight H2Hs were either drawn or settled by a one-goal margin.