La Liga: Barcelona Aim to Get on Board in Basque Visit

Real Sociedad vs Barcelona

Barcelona’s La Liga title challenge is off to a stuttering start after being held scoreless last week by Rayo Vallecano, and they’ll aim to turn things around when they visit Real Sociedad.

It was a match that was theirs for the taking since they had 21 shots on goal and the majority of possession at Camp Nou. However, they were unable to break the deadlock against last season’s 12^th place finishers.

Meanwhile, Real Sociedad started their 2022-23 campaign with a road win over Cadiz. So, although they haven’t had much success against Barcelona lately, they will return home with more confidence than their visitors.

The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds are predicting a close affair between these two sides, so football fans who will be watching this match at the Reale Arena are in for a big treat.

Talking Points

Real Sociedad have to kick things up a notch

La Real would need to be more clinical in the final third if they are to snap their drought against the Blaugrana.

Against Cadiz, who were almost relegated last season at 17^th place, Real Sociedad had 15 shots total with seven of them on target and had 61-per cent possession, but they only mustered one goal which was enough to win the match.

Takefusa Kubo scored his debut goal for La Real, which was the kind of impact Real Sociedad would’ve wanted to see on his first La Liga start with them. David Silva and Mohamed-Ali Cho both had their chances against Cadiz, but were denied by Jeremias Ledesma.

With talisman Mikel Oyarzabal sidelined indefinitely due to a torn ACL he suffered last March, everyone from La Real would have to step up their games in these next few weeks.

Patience is key for Barcelona

Xavi calls for patience after his team couldn’t find a way past Rayo Vallecano last weekend. After all, it’s all about trusting the process for this group following their summer makeover.

He started new acquisitions Robert Lewandowski, Andreas Christensen, and Raphinha, while Franck Kessie came off the bench, but all of them didn’t make much impact. To make matters worse, veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets is out for one match after he was sent off late when he elbowed Radamel Falcao in the face.

Barcelona have been busy during this transfer window, having spent £140-M on new players despite being cash-strapped due to the league’s financial fair play rules. Earlier this week, the Catalan giants were under pressure to register all of their new signings, but Jules Kounde missed the cut.

Kounde’s absence was sorely missed, but he is sure to feature as soon as the paperworks are done.

There’s still a few more days before the summer window closes and Barcelona continue to find new reinforcements while trying to offload certain players.

It remains to be seen on what Xavi’s full roster would look like at the end of this month. However, he should still have enough firepower to get their campaign up and running with positive La Liga 2022 results.

History

Real Sociedad have yet to win any of their last 12 league encounters (D2, L10) versus Barcelona, which is their longest winless streak against them in the Spanish top-flight since a stretch of 17 games between November 1952 and October 1960 (D3, L14).

The Blaugrana have a six-game unbeaten streak against Real Sociedad at Reale Arena in La Liga (W4, D2), winning the last two. The last time Barcelona have won three or more consecutive away matches against Real Sociedad dates back to 1955.

In terms of recent form, Real Sociedad have the edge over their visitors – winning three of their last four league games (L1) after failing to win any of their last four before that (D2, L2).

On the other hand, Barcelona have yet to win or even score in their last three La Liga matches (D2, L1), and they’ve never gone four straight without scoring in their top-flight history.

Betting Tip

Barcelona are predicted to get into the win column, according to the La Liga 2022 odds. The Blaugrana are installed at 2.12, while Real Sociedad aren’t far behind at 3.90 and a draw is priced at 2.11 in the 1X2 market.

While this match could go either way, I am leaning towards a narrow victory for the visitors since they have better depth and quality than their hosts.

With these two sides yet to find their groove in the final third lately, Under 3.00 @ 1.86 seems like a plausible alternative bet.

 

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