After suffering a shock home defeat to Cadiz on Monday night, Barcelona have the chance to quickly make things right as they travel to Real Sociedad in La Liga. They have done some of their best work on the road lately and while Sociedad have the quality to make things difficult, the Catalans will fancy their chances of coming out on top.
Real Sociedad have successfully navigated their way past a difficult spell in February which saw them crash out of the Europa League. Imanol Alguacil’s men appear to be back to their best form and are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions.
That run has reignited Real Sociedad’s European hopes as they sit sixth on the table, just five points behind Atletico Madrid, who currently occupy the final UEFA Champions League spot. Sociedad endured a frustrating outting last time out, playing out a 0-0 draw with Real Betis in a match that saw David Silva get sent off.
Although they are now unbeaten in their last four home matches, the draw with Real Betis shows they can be slightly unconvincing at Reale Arena. Betis had already claimed a 4-0 Copa Del Rey victory a few weeks back while a 3-1 Europa League defeat to RB Leipzig is also among their recent results.
It has been a difficult week for Barcelona as they crashed out of the Europa League after falling 3-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. They followed up that result with another home defeat, losing 1-0 to troubled Cadiz in their Monday night La Liga fixture.
The defeat to Frankfurt means Barcelona are set for a trophyless campaign with a Champions League finish their only motivation at the moment. However, they are set for a dog fight in the race for second place as Monday’s result has seen Sevilla and Atletico Madrid draw level on 60 points.
One positive for Barcelona ahead of the trip to Sociedad is that they have done their best work on their travels lately. Xavi’s men are unbeaten in their last nine away matches across all competitions, claiming seven wins in that run, including a 4-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona have the upper hand among the bookies with an away win priced at 19/17 by SBK. A victory for Real Sociedad is valued at 5/2 by bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 45/17 by SBK.
Recent head to head
Barcelona often come out on top in this fixture, winning the last four La Liga matches with Real Sociedad. The Catalans claimed a 4-2 victory in the reverse fixture in August and also won 6-1 on their last visit to Real Arena.
Players to watch
Real Sociedad are not particularly prolific in attack and are likely to miss the creativity of the suspended David Silva. However, striker Alexander Isak still carries the goal threat and is priced at 11/5 by Paddy Power to score anytime.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang endured a frustrating night against Cadiz but remains the biggest attacking threat for Barcelona. The striker has eight goals in 10 La Liga matches for the Catalans and is priced at 29/20 by Unibet to get on the score sheet on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There has been over 3.5 goals in the last two matches between Real Sociedad and Barcelona and Thursday’s clash could be set to produce a similar outcome at 21/10 with Sport Nation. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 5/6 with Sport Nation.
The last two meetings have produced second half goals for both teams and a repeat is priced at 2/1 with Paddy Power.
This La Liga match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona will be played on Apr 21, 2022 and kick off at 20:30. Check below for our tipsters best Real Sociedad vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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