La Liga

Almeria vs Real Sociedad Predictions & Match Preview

By Admin / January 6, 2023

Almeria vs Real Sociedad

Almeria vs Real Sociedad predictions and match preview for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as La Real travel to Andalusia.

Date Sunday 8th January 2023
Kick-Off 14:00 (CET)
Stadium Power Horse
Competition LaLiga

Almeria vs Real Sociedad Preview

Almeria match action
Almeria stadium via Almju, CC BY-SA 4.0

Almeria and Real Sociedad face off in the opening game on Sunday in LaLiga. It promises to be a good game with Almeria very strong at home while Real Sociedad tend to enjoy life on the road.

It’s four straight wins for Almeria at the Power Horse Stadium in LaLiga heading into this. Those kind of streaks are a dream for newly promoted teams and this came at a particularly good time for the Andalusian club with pressure starting to build on Rubi heading into the 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano at the start of that run.

The former Betis boss deserves credit for finding solutions in the final third. Gonzalo Melero has proved a good signing from Levante and he was on target in the 1-1 draw at Cadiz last time out. He is also getting good contributions from the likes of El Bilal Toure, Leo Baptistao and Largie Ramazani. With Colombian forward Luis Suarez also now available, it feels like Almeria should have enough about them to beat the drop, although there are still a few doubts about them defensively.

Real Sociedad meanwhile are still going along nicely in all competitions which could prove to be both a blessing and a curse. It’s admirable how seriously Imanol takes the cups with a strong XI named for the 1-0 win at Logrones in the Copa del Rey in midweek. However you wonder if their strong push for Champions League qualification in LaLiga can survive long runs in both the Copa del Rey and Europa League.

So far, so good and the World Cup break has certainly helped them get a few players back to fitness whilst offering a rest to most of their squad. They were 2-0 winners over Osasuna in their first league game back last week and they can also take confidence from having won 5 of their 7 away games so far this term in LaLiga. They have one more away point than they do at home, from one fewer game.

Team News & Possible Lineups

Almeria

Possible XI: Fernando – Akieme, Ely, Babic, Pozo – De La Hoz, Robertone – Embarba, Melero, Baptistao – Toure (4-2-3-1)

Coach: Rubi

Real Sociedad

INJURED Merquelanz, Fernandez, Sadiq
DOUBTFUL Cho, Turrientes
BANNED Brais Mendez

Possible XI: Remiro – Rico, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Gorosabel – Zubimendi, Silva, Merino – Cho, Sorloth, Kubo (4-3-3)

Coach: Imanol Alguacil

Score Prediction: Almeria 1-1 Real Sociedad

This is a tough game to call as Almeria have been going really well at home. This is tougher than their last 4 home fixtures though and much may depend on just how bold Real Sociedad are willing to be. La Real’s excellent away record is also partly the result of favourable away fixtures to date (they’ve already played 6 of the bottom 7 away) and it feels like we may be in for a close game here and it wouldn’t be a surprise if it ended level, particularly with regular goal threat Brais Mendez missing for the visitors.

PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.

Source link

About Author

Admin

See author's posts

You may also like