Real Sociedad will be looking to continue their impressive start to the 2021-22 La Liga campaign when they welcome Mallorca to Reale Arena on Saturday night.
The home side are currently third in Spain's top flight, having picked up 17 points from their opening eight matches, while Mallorca occupy 12th, with 11 points to show from their first eight games.
Match preview
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Real Sociedad have won five, drawn two and lost one of their eight La Liga matches this season, with a total of 17 points leaving them third in the division, level on points with leaders Real Madrid and second-placed Atletico Madrid.
Imanol Alguacil's side have also made an unbeaten start to their Europa League group-stage campaign, drawing their opening two fixtures against PSV Eindhoven and Monaco, which has left them in a good position ahead of successive games against Sturm Graz.
Real Sociedad are actually unbeaten in their last seven league matches and have won two of their last three, but the Basque outfit were held to a 1-1 draw by basement side Getafe just before the international break.
A lengthy injury list has tested the club in the early stages of the season, but it has been an overwhelmingly positive start; a busy end to October sees them play five times, following the games against Mallorca and Sturm Graz with clashes against Atletico, Celta and Athletic Bilbao.
Having finished fifth in La Liga last term, it is not a surprise to see the White and Blues towards the top end of the division, and it will be fascinating to see whether they can balance league and European commitments to enjoy another successful campaign.
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Mallorca, meanwhile, can also be delighted with their start to the season, having picked up 11 points from eight matches on their return to this level, which has left them 12th in the division.
The Pirates finished second in the Segunda Division last season to secure a return to the top flight, and they will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 home win over Levante, with Angel netting the only goal of the contest in the 75th minute to secure all three points.
Mallorca have already won three league matches this season and are just three points behind fourth-placed Sevilla, which is an indication of the strength of their start.
Luis Garcia's side also have a busy end to the month, taking on Valencia, Sevilla and Cadiz in their three matches after this one, and it will be interesting to see where they sit heading into November.
Mallorca have lost their last three league games against Sociedad, including both fixtures during the 2019-20 campaign, and they are winless against Saturday's opponents in Spain's top flight since September 2012.
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Team News
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Real Sociedad's injury list is easing, but Carlos Fernandez, Nacho Monreal, Jon Guridi and Diego Rico are all confirmed absentees, while David Silva, Jon Pacheco, Asier Illarramendi and Alexander Sorloth remain doubts.
Head coach Alguacil will have to make late calls on a number of his players, particularly those that have been away on international duty, but Mikel Oyarzabal and Alexander Isak should both start in attack.
It is expected to be a 4-3-3 formation for the home side on Saturday, with Robert Navarro likely to line up alongside Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi in the middle of the park.
As for Mallorca, Antonio Raillo, Aleksander Sedlar and Takefusa Kubo will face late fitness tests.
The visitors have not reported any fresh injury concerns, though, and it would therefore not be a surprise to see the same XI that took to the field against Levante before the international break.
A 4-2-3-1 formation should see Dani Rodriguez, Lee Kang-in and Fer Nino feature in forward areas, while Pablo Maffeo is available after a slight injury concern and should continue at right-back.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Gorosabel, Elustondo, Le Normand, Munoz; Merino, Zubimendi, Navarro; Portu, Isak, Oyarzabal
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Reina; Maffeo, Valjent, Russo, Costa; Galarreta, Baba; Kang-in, Rodriguez, Ndiaye; Nino
We say: Real Sociedad 2-1 Mallorca
Mallorca have impressed in the early stages of the season and are more than capable of making this a very difficult match for Real Sociedad. That said, the home side have been excellent this term, and we are expecting the White and Blues to put another three points on the board at the end of a close contest.
Top tip
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 54.9%. A draw had a probability of 25.2% and a win for Mallorca had a probability of 19.91%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Sociedad win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.01%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.09%) and 2-1 (9.34%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.78%), while for a Mallorca win it was 0-1 (7.44%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 14% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Real Sociedad in this match.
