Real Sociedad vs Eibar
La Liga action returns to the Basque country this weekend when Real Sociedad host Eibar in an attempt to get back to winning ways.
Having led the pack for a good number of weeks, with a series of high scoring wins, Sociedad steered our SBOTOP tips to predict goals whenever they played. But La Real seems to have hit a wall; the wins have dried up and Imanol Alguacil’s team has handed top spot to Atletico Madrid, who have edged a point ahead following a run of seven straight victories.
Injuries to key players haven’t helped, but Alguacil has a talented squad to call on and his team should have too much for mid-table Eibar, though Jose Luis Mendilibar has guided the visitors away from the bottom of the table with a four match unbeaten run.
Talking Points
Sociedad looking to break drawing habit
Four draws on the run, two in the Spanish league and two in the Europa League have slowed Real Sociedad’s momentum in recent weeks after they enjoyed a sequence of hammering opponents for fun. But it was anything but a laugh for players and fans as La Real failed to break down ten man Alaves last week. They were without skipper and leading scorer Mikel Oyarzabal, who has led from the front with seven league goals so far. Sociedad are sweating on his fitness and he’s not the only player they have missed during this winless streak. Summer signing David Silva has also been sidelined, though he made an appearance in Real’s 2-2 Europa League draw with Rijeka last week. It has been a struggle for Sociedad without Silva, he’s been a revelation at the club since his arrival from Manchester City in the summer and made Real look like title contenders.
They remain the highest scorers in the division with 22 goals and have the second best defensive record, conceding only five. Predictably, Atletico Madrid have conceded only two! But Sociedad needn’t worry about Atletico, they just need to get back to winning to improve their chances of landing in a Champions League spot.
At 13.00 to win the league Sociedad are still seen as a genuine threat to the Big Three and they have proved already this season they have the ability to destroy defences at will. Between the 3rd October and the 1st November, Sociedad had four consecutive league victories, all by a three goal margin (two at 4-1 and two at 3-0) and they headlined the La Liga 2020 news throughout that month.
Alguacil wants to see a return to that kind of form, starting on Sunday. And if Silva and Oyarzabal don’t make the starting 11, he has enough attacking threat in four goal Portu, Brazilian forward Willian Jose and former Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj to test the Eibar defence.
Eibar looking to consolidate
Following promotion to the Primera Division for the first time in 2014, Eibar is in a seventh season in the top flight and has sat comfortably in mid table for much of its stay. A 14th placed finish last term was the lowest since 2016 and Jose Luis Mendilibar’s job is to avoid getting sucked into a relegation scrap.
Eibar has started this season well enough and is four games unbeaten, with three draws and a win lifting the Los Almaros up to 11th. It’s incredibly congested in the middle of the table, Just two points separate seventh placed Granada from 16th placed Celta Vigo, so a win or a couple of defeats can see a team rise or fall some distance.
Experienced Spanish forward Kike has been a key player at Eibar since his 2016 transfer from Middlesbrough and he is joint top scoring with three goals, alongside Argentine defender Esteban Burgos. But while Mendilibar would love to see his side attack their hosts, he will try to make sure they are as difficult to beat as they have been in recent weeks.
History
The head to heads have been well contested, with Eibar winning five and drawing seven of the last 20 meetings, La Real having the edge with eight wins.
Sociedad did the double last season with a thumping 4-1 win in this fixture, Oyarzabal one of four scorers, and while we can see another home win on the cards, our Real Sociedad vs Eibar betting tips won’t go for another big win.
When playing at home Real haven’t lost to Eibar in eight encounters, while the visitors are unbeaten in their last four games on the road.
Betting Tip
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Real Sociedad vs Eibar | Under 2.50 @ 1.83 |
| December 13, 20:00 (GMT+8) |
Real Sociedad are highly fancied to get back to winning ways at odds of 1.56, with Eibar at 5.22 and the draw at 3.78. But it won’t be easy. If Silva and Oyarzabal aren’t fit to play it will be doubly difficult to break down a team which has conceded just one goal in the last four games.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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