Real Sociedad will be looking to continue their impressive start to the 2020-21 La Liga campaign when they welcome newly-promoted Huesca to San Sebastian on Sunday night.
The Basque outfit have picked up 11 points from their first six matches of the season to top the table, while Huesca currently sit 16th with five points to show from their opening six fixtures.
Match preview
© Reuters
Not too much can be made of the league table at this stage of the season, but Sociedad are the early leaders in Spain's top flight, having picked up 11 points from their first six matches.
Three wins, two draws and one defeat - that is how the Basque outfit have performed, and they have recorded back-to-back 3-0 victories over Getafe and Real Betis in their last two league encounters.
Sociedad were also in Europa League group-stage action on Thursday night, opening their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Rijeka courtesy of a stoppage-time effort from Jon Bautista.
Imanol Alguacil's side will be looking to make an impression in the European competition this season but will also be hoping to push into the top four, having ended the 2020-21 campaign in sixth.
La Real will be back in Europa League action against Napoli on October 29 before travelling to Celta Vigo at the start of next month, and it would be fair to say that there are a very busy few weeks ahead for the club.
© Reuters
As for Huesca, a total of five points from six matches has left them in 16th position in the table, and they are one of only two sides - the other being Real Valladolid - yet to win in La Liga this term.
Michel's side have been very much the draw specialists, sharing the points in each of their last four encounters, including a 0-0 at home to Atletico Madrid at the end of September.
Huesca were relegated from La Liga at the end of the 2018-19 season, but they won the Segunda Division last term to secure a return to the top flight, meaning that consolidation is the aim this term.
Azulgranas will be desperate to put three points on the board as soon as possible, but they have proved a tough nut to crack this season and are certainly capable of making it an uncomfortable 90 minutes for Sociedad, who will only have had two days to prepare for this weekend's contest.
Real Sociedad La Liga form: DDWLWW
Real Sociedad form (all competitions): DWLWWW
Huesca La Liga form: DLDDDD
Team News
© Reuters
Sociedad will again be without the services of Asier Illarramendi and Luca Sangalli through injury, while Martin Merquelanz, Igor Zubeldia, Ander Barrenetxea and Joseba Zaldua are all doubts.
Alguacil is expected to make changes from the side that started against Rijeka in the Europa League on Thursday, with Willian Jose and Adnan Januzaj set to return in the final third of the field.
Mikel Oyarzabal will also feature in an attacking position, while Mikel Merino and David Silva are likely to be joined by Ander Guevara in the middle of the park.
As for Huesca, Pedro Lopez is on the sidelines through injury, while Mikel Rico has tested positive for coronavirus and is therefore currently in quarantine.
Shinji Okazaki is also a doubt for the visitors, meaning that former Barcelona attacker Sandro Ramirez should start in the final third, having scored on his debut for the club against Real Valladolid last weekend.
Rafa Mir and Jaime Seoane are both likely to keep their spots in the starting side, while Pedro Mosquera is again expected to line up in the middle of the park.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Gorosabel, Elustondo, Le Normand, Munoz; D Silva, Guevara, Merino; Januzaj, Willian Jose, Oyarzabal
Huesca possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Maffeo, Pulido, Siovas, Galan; Garcia, Seoane, Mosquera; Mir, Ramirez, Ferreiro
We say: Real Sociedad 2-0 Huesca
Huesca are unbeaten in their last four matches and played extremely well in the recent draw with Atletico. Sociedad are full of quality, though, and we are finding it difficult to predict anything other than a routine home win for the team currently sitting at the top of the table.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Sociedad win with a probability of 41.38%. A win for Huesca had a probability of 30.58% and a draw had a probability of 28%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Sociedad win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.51%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.31%) and 2-0 (7.93%). The likeliest Huesca win was 0-1 (10.34%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.11%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Sociedad would win this match.
