Real Sociedad will look to pick up their fourth win in five La Liga games when they host Levante at the Estadio Anoeta on Sunday afternoon.
A win this weekend for Levante would be the first time in almost a decade that the side have won three top-flight away games on the bounce.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a blip in form earlier this season caused many to believe that La Real's good fortunes had come to a premature end, Imanol Alguacil has successfully steered his side back to winning ways in recent weeks.
Prior to last weekend, La Real were riding the crest of a three-match winning streak that had seen them comfortably dispatch the likes of Cadiz, Getafe and Alaves.
Against Real Madrid last time out, La Real were just minutes away from besting the champions after Portu put them in front early in the second half. The good work of Alguacil's men was eventually undone by Vinicius Junior, who bagged an equaliser at the death.
While Sunday's clash may look straightforward for fifth-placed La Real, it is worth remembering that Alguacil's side have failed to win in their last four league games against Levante.
© Reuters
Wins against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have brought an immense amount of joy to the Levante faithful in recent weeks. However, their midweek Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao had put an end to one of this season's pipe dreams.
In what is still turning out to be a stellar year for the Valencian outfit, Levante are currently ninth in the standings and well on track for their best league finish for almost a decade.
Against Athletic Club in the league last time out, Levante were held to a 1-1 draw after Roger Marti converted a penalty in the first half.
Three points against La Real this weekend would go a long way in putting their Copa del Rey woes behind them.
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- D
- D
- W
- D
- L
- D
- W
- D
- D
- L
- D
- W
- D
- L
Team News
© Reuters
La Real have been forced to weather an injury crisis that has spanned much of the season and Alguacil will still be without a host of players for this tie.
Mikel Merino, Aritz Elustondo, Joseba Zaldua, Miguel Angel Moya, Jon Pacheco, Sola and Luca Sangalli are all unavailable for this tie.
In comparison, Lopez finds himself in much the same position ahead of this game, with a number of his own first-team regulars also missing through injury or suspension.
Ruben Vezo is suspended for this tie while Enis Bardhi, Sergio Postigo, Nemanja Radoja, Gonzalo Melero and Jose Campana all remain unavailable due to injury.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Alex Remiro; Gorosabel, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Monreal; Portu, Guevara, Silva, Zubimendi, Oyarzabal; Isak
Levante possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Coke, Duarte, Rober; Son, Rochina, Vukcevic, Clerc; de Frutos, Roger, Morales
We say: Real Sociedad 2-0 Levante
Levante have been turning heads this season, but they have played a lot of football this week and we think La Real will just be a bit too much for them on Sunday.
Top tip
Francis Buchanan
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 58%. A draw had a probability of 21.6% and a win for Levante had a probability of 20.35%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Sociedad win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.36%) and 2-0 (9.21%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.09%), while for a Levante win it was 1-2 (5.44%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Sociedad would win this match.
