Real Sociedad vs Valencia preview

March 15, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Sociedad vs ValenciaReal Sociedad will be looking to make amends for back to back defeats to Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano when they host Valencia, a team that still hope to revive their bid for European positions.

La Real produced quite a coup by pipping none other than los Che to the final Champions League berth in La Liga, but they don’t look they can repeat the feat.

The Champions League campaign clearly took the wind out of team’s sails, although they did show a remarkable improvement after crashing out of Europe’s elite competition.

And with the 3-1 triumph over mighty Barcelona proving how far Jagoba Arrasate’s side have come this season, many believed they would quickly close the gap behind fourth-placed Athletic Club.

Nonetheless, Real Sociedad suffered back to back losses to Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano at the worst possible time and now sit eight points behind los Leones.

That does not mean they are ready to give up on a top 4 finish, and a victory over Valencia would certainly be a step in the right direction.

Having won each of their last five matches against los Che, La Real are rightly considered 2.15 (23/20) favourites to keep the run going.

Boss Jagoba Arrasate has no fresh injury worries, but Ansotegi, Claudio Bravo and Esteban Granero remain on the sidelines.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Zubikarai – Zaldua, M. Gonzalez, I. Martinez, Angel – Bergara, Pardo – Vela, Prieto, Griezmann – Agirretxe.

Valencia are no longer a force to be reckoned with in Europe and Spain, and this appears to be the beginning of a new era for the club.

Los Che are trying to deal with financial difficulty the best way they can while attempting to keep results at a respectable level.

And while it is already clear Valencia won’t be able to mount a top 4 challenge, they still have an outside chance of qualifying for Europa League.

Meanwhile, they are doing pretty well in this year’s competition and have all but secured a quarter-final berth with a 3-0 away triumph over Ludogorets.

However, they are likely to face a much tougher task at Anoeta, where they are 1.80 (4/5) to avoid defeat on Sunday.

Ricardo Costa and Oriol Romeu continue to miss out, whilst Pablo Piatti is doubtful through an ankle injury and Seydou Keita has shaken off a minor knock. Jeremy Mathieu and Paco Alcacer are banned.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Alves – Pereira, Senderos, Ruiz, Bernat – Parejo, Keita – Feghouli, Jonas, Cartabia – Vargas.

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