Prediction: Real Sociedad to win 1-0
Best Odds: 6/1
Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao will lock horns with each other in the Copa del Rey this week. The second leg of the semi-final tie between the two La Liga clubs will be held at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian and is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday. Sociedad won the first leg of the tie 1-0 at San Mames in Bilbao last month.
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad are one of the biggest and most well-known clubs in Spain. While La Real have played in the UEFA Champions League in years gone by, they did not have a particularly good time last season and ended up 11th in the standings.
Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side, though, are doing well at the moment. Sociedad are eighth in the La Liga table right now with 35 points from 26 matches and are likely to end the season in the top half of the standings.
Sociedad will head into the match against Bilbao on the back of a 1-0 victory over Real Mallorca away from home in La Liga. It came after a 3-3 draw with Real Oviedo in front of their fans in the league, which followed a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid at Estadio Bernabeu in the league.
Team News:
Real Sociedad are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Athletic Bilbao. Alex Remiro will be in goal and will have Jon Aramburu, Igor Zubeldia, Duje Caleta-Car and Sergio Gomez in front of him in defence. Jon Gorrotxategi and Benat Turrientes will be the two holding midfielders. Goncalo Guedes, Carlos Soler and Arsen Zakharyan will be the three attacking midfielders. Mikel Oyarzabal will lead the line for La Real.
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao are one of the biggest and most historic clubs in Spain who regularly challenge for the top four in the La Liga table. While the Basque giants do not tend to challenge for the championship, they try to end up in major European Competitions.
Bilbao finished fifth in the La Liga table in the 2023-24 campaign and ended up fourth in the standings in the 2024-25 campaign. Ernesto Valverde’s side, though, are not doing particularly well at the moment. Zuri-Gorriak are ninth in the league table right now with 35 points from 26 matches.
Bilbao will head into the La Liga match against Real Sociedad on the back of a 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano away from home in the league. It came after a 2-1 victory over Elche in front of their fans in La Liga, which followed a 2-1 victory over Real Oviedo on the road in the league.
Team News:
Athletic Bilbao are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Real Sociedad. Unai Simon will be in goal and will have Jesus Areso, Dani Vivian, Aymeric Laporte and Yuri Berchiche in front of him in defence. Mikel Jauregizar and Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta will be the two holding midfielders. Inaki Williams, Oihan Sancet and Unai Gomez will be the three attacking midfielders. Gorka Guruzeta will lead the line for Bilbao.
Key Factors to Consider
- Athletic Bilbao have won 3 of their last 6 La Liga matches.
- Athletic Bilbao have scored 30 goals and conceded 36 goals in 26 La Liga matches so far this season.
- Athletic Bilbao have won 10 of their 26 La Liga matches this season.
- Real Sociedad have won 3 of their last 6 La Liga games.
- Real Sociedad have scored 38 goals and conceded 38 goals in 26 La Liga games.
Conclusion
Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad are in similar form at the moment, and there is not much of a difference between the two sides. However, having won the first leg away from home last month, Sociedad will be confident of getting the job done in the second leg in front of their fans.
Prediction: Real Sociedad to win 1-0
Best Odds: 6/1
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