Barcelona vs Real Sociedad
The season is well and truly hotting up for Barcelona and Real Sociedad, but the key question is, are either club geared up to challenge on all fronts?
Barcelona are the La Liga leaders (on goal difference from Real Madrid), have a last-16 tie in the Champions League to look forward to with Benfica next week and were involved in an eight-goal thriller in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final with Atletico Madrid in midweek.
Meanwhile, Sociedad have enjoyed some La Liga 2025 highlights of their own to date and, while in ninth spot, are in touching distance of a European spot. More pertinently though, they are in the middle of a manic period of key games domestically and in Europe too.
Talking Points
On Thursday night, they pushed Spanish and European champions Real Madrid all the way, going down to a 1-0 first leg defeat. Next up are Barca who lead the table from Real with Atletico Madrid just a further point behind. And then next week they will host Manchester United in the last-16 of the Europa League, as Thursday nights get lively again. It speaks volumes for Sociedad’s priorities that the club is reportedly considering resting players for the trip to Catalonia.
La Real will already be without Takefusa Kubo and Nayef Aguerd, as both players serve a one-match suspension after picking up yellow cards in last weekend’s victory over Leganes. Meanwhile, club captain Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Zubimendi, who continues to attract significant transfer speculation, may also be afforded a rest.
Only once in the past decade have Sociedad finished outside the top 10, but this news suggests the priority is on ensuring key men are 100-per cent their first leg against United at the Reale Arena. That may be just the boost Barca need at a time when this SBOTOP scribe feels the race for the Spanish title and the European spots is just getting interesting.
History
Barcelona won both games last season, including 2-0 in this corresponding contest when teenage star Lamine Yamal and a Raphinha penalty sealed the points in a match which confirmed the runners-up spot. In San Sebastian earlier in the campaign, Ronald Araújo’s last-gasp ended the hosts’16-game unbeaten La Liga run in the process. Earlier this season, Sheraldo Becker scored the only goal of the game to earn Sociedad a memorable 1-0 victory.
Until then, you had to go to back to April 2016 for the last time they defeated their opponents on home turf when an early goal from Oyarzabal proved enough for the San Sebastian men.
They have met a total of 21 times since then (17 in La Liga, three in the Copa del Rey and once in the Supercopa) and Barca have won 17 times with two draws.
In May 2023, Sociedad triumphed in the Nou Camp in a memorable encounter as Mikel Merino and Alexander Sorloth – two players no longer with them – scored the goals, albeit against a team which had already been crowned Spanish champions.
Overall, there have been 103 Barca victories in their head-to-head games in all competitions with 35 Sociedad successes and 36 draws.
The last time Sociedad won in the Nou Camp was in a league game in 1991 when, three days after Barcelona had been beaten by Manchester United in the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final, they lost 3-1 at home. The English contingent of Dalian Atkinson and John Aldridge each scored before Julio Salinas netted a consolation.
Betting Tip
The La Liga 2025 betting odds arguably do a disservice to Sociedad who, yes, are outsiders but offer great value both 1X2 @ 8.40 and Asian Handicap +1.25 @ 2.42. By contrast, Barca can be backed 1X2 @ 1.26 and Asian Handicap -1.75 @ 2.05. The draw is on offer at a very attractive @ 5.20.
For two teams who like to attack, you can find odds of Over 3.00 @ 2.02, Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.11 and 4-6 @ 2.69 which compares with 0-1 @ 4.33.
A re-run of last season’s meeting will pay out @ 6.00 with Correct Score 2-0, though a repeat of Sociedad’s triumph in November is worth an impressive @ 26.00 Although I think Sociedad will give a good account of themselves, I also feel they will have had a lot taken out of them by their first leg Copa del Rey semi-final with Real Madrid, all the while Barcelona have had a day longer to recover from their own last four encounter with Atletico.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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