Real Sociedad vs Real Valladolid

March 26, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Real Sociedad seriously damaged their top 4 hopes by losing three of last four league fixtures, but a victory over struggling Real Valladolid could help keep their Champions League dream alive. Meanwhile, Pucela remain two points adrift of safety and they will see this match as an opportunity to pour more misery on La Real.

Tough times for La Real

This has been a truly testing season for Real Sociedad, who attempted to find the real balance between their La Liga and Champions League campaigns, but did not exactly succeed in doing so. La Real were sitting very close to the relegation zone while playing in Europe, but as soon as they were eliminated from the Champions League, team’s league performances started improving. Jagoba Arrasate’s side did brilliantly to revive their top 4 bid, but their recent slip-ups could prove costly in the final count. While the 3-1 triumph over mighty Barcelona was expected to act as an additional confidence boost, it seems to have had just the opposite effect as Sociedad went on to suffer back to back losses to Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano. La Real returned to winning ways by beating Valencia, while they were then unfortunate to lose to Almeria, having twice taken the lead and conceded an injury-time goal. Team’s last two performances are enough to suggest they are slowly raising their form and the match against relegation-threatened Real Valladolid is likely to serve as a good opportunity to kick-start their season.

Jose Angel returns from suspension, but Esteban Granero and Joseba Zaldua are not yet ready to return from injury.

Valladolid sinking deeper and deeper

Real Valladolid largely impressed on their return to the elite division, having enjoyed a very successful season under Miroslav Djukic, but things have not been the same since the Serbian coach left for Valencia. La Pucela have struggled for form this term and they currently sit two points behind safety. The team have shown occasional glimpses of quality at their Jose Zorrilla, defeating Celta Vigo, Villarreal and Barcelona on home soil, but they were unable to repeat those kinds of performances against relegation rivals when it really mattered. Meanwhile, Juan Ignacio Martinez’s side have yet to find a cure for their travel sickness, with the team picking up just three points from last ten away matches in the league. And having also conceded 34 goals in 15 matches on the road, Real Valladolid have every reason to fear the trip to Anoeta, especially with Real Sociedad attack packed with high-quality players.

Full-back Antonio Rukavina returns from suspension, but Humberto Osorio misses out with a muscle problem. Alvaro Rubio and Stefan Mitrovic have shaken off minor knocks.

Verdict

Real Sociedad may not have impressed of late, but they clearly have plenty of quality within the ranks and two promising performances in a row could suggest the team are slowly returning to the right track. Meanwhile, Real Valladolid have been utterly disappointing on the road and they cannot be expected to end the barren run at Anoeta.

Top pick: Sociedad/Sociedad   2.25 (5/4) @ Betfair

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   1.78 (39/50) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 2: Real Sociedad with -1.5 Asian handicap   2.25 (5/4) @ bet365

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