REMEMBER Terry Gibson? Well, we've signed him and while he won't be kicking a football he'll be looking into his crystal ball and bringing us his best Spanish tips every week.
The ex-Spurs, Coventry and Manchester United striker is probably best remembered for his time as part of the infamous Wimbledon Crazy Gang side of the late 80s and early 90s. Now an expert in all things La Liga he works as a pundit and co-commentator on Sky Sports’ Spanish football coverage and is a contributor to unibet.
Here are Terry's tips for Barcelona's trip to bogey team Sociedad.
Sociedad v Barcelona (Sun 7.45pm)
Bogey team alert! Barcelona’s last win in La Liga away from home against Real Sociedad in the Anoeta was over 10 years ago.
They might feel that they broke “the hoodoo” with a 1-0 win in the Copa del Rey semi-final last season courtesy of a Neymar penalty but we shall see on Sunday evening whether that is true or not.
The last time they won at The Anoeta in the league was May 2007 and it was a 2- 0 scoreline, the scorers were Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto’o.
Taking the bogey team/stadium issue out of the equation, there shouldn’t be any other reason why Barcelona shouldn’t win this game though.
They are playing well and are far superior than their opponents this week, although that has been the case for the last decade and it hasn’t stopped Real Sociedad upsetting the odds time and time again.
At this moment in time, I would have to say that Real Sociedad are underachieving this season. They have only won three of their last 15 in the league, they lost last week at Leganés and this week will be without their best defender Ińigo Martinez, who is injured.
Coach Eusebio Sacristan is under pressure and the board are studying replacements with Javi Garcia rumoured to be the first choice should things not improve.
Sacristan is a former member of Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona’s dream team and this game could be pivotal in whether he keeps his job or not.
Regarding Barcelona, Dembele returned to fitness last week, Umtiti is nearing a return and we have to wait a short while for Coutinho to make his debut, other than that everything in Valverde’s garden is rosy. Will he be the latest Barcelona coach to suffer the Anoeta hoodoo though?
I’m predicting not. I’m going for a comfortable 3-0 win for Barcelona with Messi opening the scoring.
Terry's Tips
- Sociedad 0, Barca 3 (10-1, Unibet)
- Messi to score first (13-5, Unibet)
- Barca -2 (11-4, Unibet)
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