The Matchday 19 clash in La Liga between Real Sociedad and Villarreal will take place on January 13 at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastián. Real Sociedad vs. Villarreal: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Cesar Soto Grado (Spain)
Matches – 10 (La Liga, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 45;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.5;
Red cards shown – 4;
Average fouls per match – 23;
Penalties – 10%.
Predicted lineups for Real Sociedad vs. Villarreal
Real Sociedad (4-4-2): Alejandro Remiro – Jon Aramburu, Jon Pacheco, Igor Zubeldia, Aihen Muñoz – Beñat Turrientes, Ander Barrenetxea, Sergio Gomez, Luka Sucic – Brais Mendez, Mikel Oyarzabal.
Villarreal (4-4-2): Luis Junior – Sergi Cardona, Kiko Femenia, Logan Costa, Raul Albiol – Denis Suarez, Yeremy Pino, Santi Comesaña, Pape Gueye – Tierno Barry, Alex Baena.
Each team's starting lineup from their last match in this tournament is listed.
Real Sociedad
The San Sebastián side entered the winter break with an away defeat to Celta, losing 0-2. Before that, they drew 0-0 at home against Las Palmas. This season, Imanol Alguacil's team has already gone scoreless in at least two consecutive league matches – in September, they failed to score in four games. The club is seventh, five points behind the European competition zone. Real Sociedad has conceded only 13 goals, and only Atletico has a better defense in the current La Liga with 12.
Defender Igor Zubeldia will miss the match due to suspension, while defender Amari Traore is out with an injury.
- At least one team failed to score in nine of Real Sociedad's last La Liga matches.
- No more than two goals were scored in 9 of Real Sociedad's last 10 La Liga games.
- The San Sebastián side has not conceded any goals in the second half of their last six home league matches.
Villarreal
The Valencia side claimed their largest victory of the current La Liga season in the last round, defeating Leganes 5-2 away. However, before that, the team had not won in five consecutive league matches (3 draws and 2 losses). The club is in fifth place, just six points away from the top four. Marcelino Garcia's side also has a game in hand.
Midfielder Yeremy Pino will not play due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Midfielder Ilias Akhomach and forward Alfonso Pedraza will miss the match due to injuries.
- Both teams have scored in 17 of Villarreal's last 20 La Liga matches.
- At least three goals were scored in 6 of the club's last 8 league games.
- The number "2" appeared in the final score in 7 of Villarreal's last away matches in La Liga.
Real Sociedad vs. Villarreal: Match Prediction
Matches involving the San Sebastián side tend to have one of the lowest goal counts in the league. However, the upcoming match is unlikely to be low-scoring. This is mainly due to Villarreal, who average around two goals per match but also concede at a level comparable to La Liga's lower-ranked teams (only Valladolid has a worse defense). The average number of goals in Villarreal's games is 3.56 (only Barcelona has a higher average at 3.84).
Additionally, head-to-head encounters between these opponents tend to be entertaining with a lot of goals. In the last 10 face-offs in La Liga, at least two goals were scored nine times. Both teams scored in 4 of the last 5 meetings at Real Sociedad's ground in La Liga. There was also a goal exchange in 20 of Villarreal's last 24 away league games. Therefore, my prediction: Both teams to score – yes
