Real Sociedad vs Barcelona Prediction

Sunday’s 20:00 kick-off see’s runaway La Liga leaders Barcelona take on a below-par Real Sociedad.

Barcelona’s form throughout the season so far is on par with Chelsea’s in the UEFA Conference League; total dominance and perhaps a bit too easy. They have scored almost twice the goals of next highest scorers Real Madrid, sit nine points clear, whilst contradictingly having on average the youngest lineup in the league.

Sociedad meanwhile have been struggling to capture the form of the last five seasons, where they have managed to capture one form or another of European football. Sitting 11th, and winning just four of their 12 games so far, there is plenty of work for coach Imanol Alguacil to do.

As the fixtures approaches, here is everything you need to know about both sides ahead of kick-off.

Key Statistics

• Sociedad’s tally of ten goals scored is the joint lowest total in the top 15 teams, on par with 8th-placed Mallorca.
• However, conceding ten goals at the other end also marks their defense out as the third best in the division, behind Real Madrid and Mallorca.
• Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski leads the goal scoring rankings with 14 goals, twice as many as Villarreal’s Ayoze Perez in second.
• With a nine point lead at the top, Barcelona are already looking very tough to catch.

Real Sociedad Preview

Real Sociedad Predicted Lineup (4-1-4-1): Alex Remiro (GK); Javi Lopez, Nayef Aguerd, Igor Zubeldia, Jon Aramburu; Martin Zubimendi; Sergio Gomez, Luka Sucic, Brais Mendez, Takefusa Kubo; Mikel Oyarzabal.

After one win in their first seven league games, Sociedad have managed to drag themselves back into something of a competitive position.

Winning two their past four games, over last season's surprise packages Girona and struggling Sevilla respectively, the outlook has become significantly more positive recently, after they found themselves sitting 16th in September.

However, facing Barcelona is a completely different prospect, and when their El Classico rivals Real Madrid lose 4-0 at home to the Catalans, it is a stretch to see anything other than a heavy Barcelona win.

However, given their recent upturn in form, Sociedad should, at the very least, give a good account of themselves here.

Barcelona Preview

Barcelona Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Inaki Pena (GK); Alex Balde, Inigo Martinez, Sergi Dominguez, Jules Kounde; Pedri, Marc Casado; Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal; Robert Lewandowski.

Despite their superb form, which has seen them lose just one game in all competitions so far, Barcelona are in fact suffering something of an injury crisis, particularly in the defense.

Missing starting center back duo Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen, responsibility for much of the season has fallen to Inigo Martinez and La Masia product Pau Cubarsi, with the latter having been enormously impressive in his 12 games so far.

However, after requiring 17 stitches to his face after a nasty challenge in Barca’s 5-2 win over Red Star Belgrade, Inigo Martinez remains as the only fit starting defender.

Even so, another La Masia product Sergi Dominguez is a ready made replacement for Cubarsi, having played in five competitive games this season despite his young age of 17.

With other youth products Marc Casado, Lamine Yamal, and Fermin Lopez performing over the odds in other areas of the pitch, Barcelona are currently one of the most exciting teams in Europe right now, and no one should be surprised if they record another dominant victory this weekend.

Real Sociedad vs Barcelona Head to Head

Recent Meetings:

• 13/05/2024: Barcelona 2-0 Sociedad.
• 04/11/2023: Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona.
• 20/05/2023: Barcelona 1-2 Sociedad.
• 25/01/2023: Barcelona 1-0 Sociedad.
• 21/08/2022: Sociedad 1-4 Barcelona.

Real Sociedad vs Barcelona Betting Tip

Barcelona have scored three or more goals in their last seven games, and have won all of them. Without evidence to the contrary, we believe the trend will continue here. Barcelona will dominate, and Lewandowski, who appears to have rediscovered his Bayern Munich form, will grab at least two.

Barcelona will win, and it is almost a guarantee that they will score a bucket load of goals, so we are backing a Barca win with over 1.5 goals.

Real Sociedad vs Barcelona Final Prediction

Real Sociedad 1-4 Barcelona

It would reflect well if Sociedad grab a goal, but their defensive record is set to come out of this game considerably worse than that state it arrived in.