Preview: Aston Villa vs Real Sociedad - prediction, team news, lineups

Aston Villa will continue their pre-season preparations when they face Real Sociedad at Bescot Stadium on Tuesday.

Villa are building up to the UEFA Super Cup on August 12, while La Real are working towards their La Liga opener against Real Betis on August 21.

Match preview

Aston Villa started their pre-season campaign with an emphatic 5-0 victory over League Two outfit Walsall.

They were provided with a much tougher test in Saturday's narrow 2-1 defeat to Portuguese champions Porto.

Unai Emery's side will face another difficult assignment in their midweek outing against Copa del Rey holders Real Sociedad, before they fly out to the Far East to conclude their preparations with three friendlies against Indonesian All-Stars, Pathum United and Bayern Munich.

As the Europa League winners, Villa will have one eye on next month's UEFA Super Cup against Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg, where they will attempt to lift the trophy for the first time since 1982.

Villa have seen a number of players depart ahead of the new campaign, including the key duo of Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, who have joined Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.

They have at least made four signings of their own, recruiting Joao Gomes, Johan Manzambi, Modou Keba Cisse and Alejandro Garnacho, although Emery will want more reinforcements to give his side the best possible chance of balancing the demands of Champions League football with the busy domestic schedule.

Pellegrino Matarazzo is preparing for his first full season as Real Sociedad boss after taking over the reins in December.

Matarazzo has already etched his name in Real Sociedad history, leading the Basque side to their fourth Copa del Rey triumph with a penalty shootout win over Atletico Madrid in April's final, securing the club a spot in the 2026-27 Europa League league phase.

The Real Sociedad boss will now be targeting an improvement on last season's 10th-placed finish, although that will be far from easy as his side will have to balance their La Liga schedule with their Europa League fixtures.

After starting their pre-season schedule with a narrow defeat to Pau, Real Sociedad went on to draw 1-1 against newly-promoted Racing Santander before beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 in Saturday's clash at the Bescot Stadium.

La Real will now face Villa at Walsall's home ground before wrapping up pre-season with games against Toulouse, Koln and Chelsea ahead of their La Liga opener against Real Betis.

Matarazzo will hope to have more reinforcements before the new La Liga season, with defender Kazunari Kita the only new signing of Real Sociedad's summer window.

Aston Villa Club friendlies form:

W L

Real Sociedad Club friendlies form:

L D W

Team News

The Villans are likely to be without Pau Torres, Alysson and Tammy Abraham due to injury.

Emi Buendia could return to the fold after missing the defeat to Porto as part of an effort to manage his workload.

Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Lucas Digne, Ollie Watkins and Manzambi are unavailable following their involvement in the 2026 World Cup.

Midfielder Amadou Onana is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after sustaining a serious knee injury in Belgium's last-16 win over the USA.

As for Real Sociedad, they remain without long-term absentee Alvaro Odriozola, who has been out since November with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Take Kubo and Luka Sucic recently linked up with their teammates after their post-World Cup breaks, but the pair will not play in Tuesday’s friendly as they focus on building their fitness.

Spain striker Mikel Oyarzabal is enjoying some time off after scoring five goals in his country’s triumphant World Cup campaign.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Nedeljkovic, Cisse, Mings, Maatsen; Bogarde, Gomes; Bailey, Buendia, Lynch; Burrowes

Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:

Remiro; Aramburu, Martin, Pacheco, Munoz; Aguirre, Turrientes; Zakharyan, Soler, Gomez; Oskarsson

We say: Aston Villa 1-2 Real Sociedad

Both teams are without key players, but Real Sociedad can still name a team that could compete in La Liga, and we think they could get the better of a Villa side that will feature several players who will not be regular starters for the upcoming season.

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