La Liga: High Stakes in the Basque Derby

Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao

Two Europe-chasing clubs come face-to-face at the Reale Arena on Saturday, and there is an added spice to the game as near neighbours will duel it out.

The La Liga match between Sociedad and Bilbao will be on the radar of fans and teams from all over Spain as La Real currently sit third in the league table, while Bilbao are in the European hunt in seventh place.

Imanol Alguacil’s Sociedad come into the game on the back of a 2-0 victory away to Almeria, while Bilbao drew 0-0 at home to Osasuna.

The pre-match La Liga 2023 odds see this as a marginal home win which would make it four on the bounce for the hosts, but Ernesto Valverde’s Bilbao are unbeaten in 10 games and a victory would lift them into the running for a Champions League place.

Talking Points

Head coaches are Basque legends

Part of the appeal in this game is in the battle on the touchline between two of the Basque country’s most loved and respected figures.

Alguacil has the blue and white of Sociedad running through his veins, having spent 10 years at the club as a player and distinguished right-back and then staying at Sociedad for his entire coaching career.

After the club’s 2021 Copa del Rey triumph, he chanted Sociedad songs in the post-match press conference. He’s a fan as well as the head coach and the supporters of the club simply love him. Losing finalists Bilbao haven’t forgotten either.

As a player, Valverde scored 44 goals in 170 appearances for Athletic Bilbao. And last summer, he started his third stint as manager of the club he loves.

In 2015, he guided Los Leones to the Supercopa de Espana title, a trophy they won again last year and he, like Alguacil, likes nothing more than to win the Basque derby.

Evergreen Silva is still the man

Alguacil’s side made it four games without conceding in their 2-0 win over Almeria and it was former Manchester City midfield ace David Silva who scored the opener, taking advantage of a defencive slip and nipping in to score just before the half-time break.

At 37 years of age, he is still in prime condition and his mercurial skills are a delight to watch. He can unlock a defence with a slide rule pass and still has a turn of pace and the quick feet to beat a man in tight spaces.

Norwegian striker Alexander Sorloth scored La Real’s second to make it six for the campaign, taking a pass from Mikel Moreno who has made seven assists.

Sociedad met Osasuna on New Years Eve and came out 2-0 winners as Sorloth again was on target, while Silva pulled the strings.

Iguacil likes his teams to take the attack to their opponents, and that is easier to do when your defence is solid, and the foursome of Diego Rico, Robin Le Normand, Igor Zubeldia, and Aritz Elustondo will link up again on Saturday in an attempt to shut out the Bilbao strikers.

Bilbao’s front three look to spark a top four challenge

Valverde’s approach is often more pragmatic than his opposite number’s and he won’t change his style in his quest to improve on last season’s eighth place finish.

A 0-0 draw in Bilbao’s first league match back after the World Cup against Real Betis was followed up by another goalless stalemate against Osasuna last time out, but Los Leones can let rip, as they proved when they dismantled Eldense with a 6-1 thrashing in the Copa del Rey third round.

Nico Williams was on target in the cup match and he will probably start the derby up front alongside his brother Inaki, either side of centre forward Gorka Guruzeta who has scored five goals so far this season.

With creative midfielder Iker Muniain behind this front three, if they can shut Sociedad out, then Bilbao have the potential to strike and create newLa Liga 2023 highlights.

History

The most recent head-to-heads have gone the way of Bilbao, who have won the last two. But Sociedad are unbeaten in five games at home to their Basque rivals and are edging the head-to-heads by 18 to 17 in all competitions since 1994, and there have been 20 draws.

Both teams have won four of the last six, with Bilbao drawing the other two while Sociedad have drawn one and lost one.

Betting Tip

At SBOTOP odds of 2.46, La Real are slight favourites to win this game while Bilbao, at 2.77, are well in the match and would love to extract more revenge for their 2021 Copa defeat.

It’s going to be a competitive 90 plus minutes and 1-1 is the most likely outcome at odds of 5.03, while a third consecutive goalless league draw for Bilbao is available at 6.56.

 

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