Real Sociedad vs Villarreal prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2022-10-08 16:30.
Commanding Thursday evening European victories for Real Sociedad and Villarreal have added to the intrigue of what was already a fascinating top-half La Liga (LL) clash in the first half of what could be the busiest month of club football in history. Both clubs have threatened to break their way into UEFA Champions League contention for several years, each finishing between fifth and seventh in the last three seasons, and are again on the precipice of the top four despite some mixed results.
Sociedad can claim the better form after four consecutive wins across all competitions, the most recent of which was a significant achievement for manager Imanol Alguacil, who reminded the media in Chisinau of “how hard it is to win away in Europe” following their 2-0 victory at Sheriff Tiraspol. Both clean sheets earned since the beginning of September have been in UEFA away fixtures, so Alguacil’s next challenge is to give home fans a perfect evening out considering his side have conceded in all four competitive home outings in 2022/23 so far.
Villarreal have also been saving their best football for Europe, as an understrength squad continued their goal-scoring routs at the Estadi Ciutat de València with a 5-0 demolition of Austria Vienna. However this appears to have come at the expense of the fantastic domestic form they built in the first month of their LL campaign, as Villarreal have now plummeted out of the top four after three LL games without a win (D2, L1) despite starting those as pre-match favourites.
The Yellow Submarine have, to their credit, conceded just one LL goal away from home across five trips this season, and it has left manager Unai Emery feeling buoyed despite the recent dearth of league wins, stating in midweek: "I personally like to score goals, but I also like to keep a clean sheet. Today's game (against Austria Vienna) was very good in that aspect. We have grown a lot defensively."
Players to watch: Sociedad midfielder Martín Zubimendi scored in last round’s 5-3 win over Girona and also netted the match-winner the last time these teams met. Villarreal’s Álex Baena found the net again during the week and is having an outstanding season, already contributing with goals in four wins across all competitions.
Hot stat: The visiting side on the day has won six and drawn two of the eight LL H2H meetings since 2018/19.