Real Sociedad vs Barcelona Tips and Predictions
Barcelona lost the El Clasico on October 28 and slipped down to fourth place in La Liga as a result. And sitting in fifth place is Real Sociedad, who will again look to qualify for UEFA Champions League football this season.
On Saturday, November 4, the two teams will face off at the Anoeta. The game will kick-off at 9:00 pm local time.
The visitors will need to find the winning ways again after the loss to bitter rivals Real Madrid, but Imanol Alguacil’s side is a tough nut to crack. We will reflect more on the two teams’ form in our Real Sociedad vs Barcelona tips.
Both to score? Yes
The matches Real Sociedad and Barcelona have been especially enjoyable to watch in recent years, as the Basques are one of the few teams in La Liga that dare to play an attacking brand of football against Xavi’s men.
However, this approach is risky because the Catalans know how to exploit the free spaces which Alguacil’s team leaves behind. This has resulted in Barcelona winning four of the recent five head-to-head encounters.
Besides good football, these matches usually bring about goals on both ends of the pitch. Both teams scored in three of the last five matches, and we expect this to happen again on Saturday. Neither La Real nor Barcelona have the most reliable defence with 14 and 12 goals conceded to date, and Bet365 offers 1.70 odds on both teams scoring.
Over 2.5 goals
Building on the previous part of our Real Sociedad vs Barcelona tips, we expect more than two goals in the game. To be explicit, we believe there will be at least three goals at Anoeta, with Bet365’s odds on over 2.5 goals standing at 1.90.
Similarly, there have been at least three goals scored in three of the last five games between the two. Barcelona had one of the best backlines in Europe last year but things have changed over the summer, with Xavi’s men keeping just five clean sheets in 11 matches in 2023/24 La Liga. At the same time, the Catalans boast a good attack with 23 scored goals.
Real Sociedad are in a similar situation, having scored 20 goals in 11 matches. They scored against Atletico Madrid and deserved at least a goal against Real Madrid too, certainly they’ll get one past Marc-Andre ter Stegen at home on Saturday.
Barcelona win
We’ve mentioned that Barcelona have won four of the last five matches against La Real, and now it is time to add that they have also been victorious in their last four consecutive visits at Anoeta. We expect the Catalans to record their fifth straight win away against Real Sociedad, with Bet365’s odds on it happening standing at 2.20.
Besides the recent history between the two teams, Barcelona will be extra motivated to get the full three points on the road for two reasons. First of all, they lost to Real Madrid in El Clasico last weekend and will want to redeem themselves. And second, they find themselves in fourth place and cannot afford to drop points anymore if they want to continue in the title race.
Another argument in favour of the visitors is Real Sociedad’s midweek match against Bunol in Copa del Rey, which means that some of the players will be fatigued. Barcelona, on the other hand, have had a full week to recover.
Please remember to always gamble responsibly. Our Real Sociedad vs Barcelona tips are friendly suggestions, not a call to action. Always rely on your own judgement in the end.