Preview: Valencia vs Real Sociedad - prediction, team news, lineups

Real Sociedad will be aiming to avoid a third successive defeat when they resume their la Liga campaign against Valencia at Mestalla on Sunday night.

The visitors are currently 12th in the La Liga table, picking up seven points from six matches, while Valencia are 18th in the division, claiming four points from six games.

Match preview

Valencia have a record of one win, one draw and four defeats from their six La Liga matches this season, with four points leaving them in 18th spot in the division, and there is no question that it has been an underwhelming start to the campaign.

Los Che will enter this match off the back of a victory, though, beating Alaves 1-0, with Luis Rioja coming off the bench to score the winner.

Valencia had been on a four-game losing run against Real Betis, Deportivo La Coruna, Barcelona and Sevilla before picking up all three points last time out.

The six-time La Liga champions finished ninth in Spain's top flight last term, but it could potentially be a testing campaign for the club in 2026-27.

Valencia lead the overall head-to-head record against Real Sociedad, having triumphed in 68 of their 162 matches to the Basque side's 53, while there have also been 41 draws.

The last meeting between the two sides came in May 2026, with Valencia recording a 4-3 victory, but it was 1-1 when the pair locked horns at Mestalla last term.

Real Sociedad will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth in the Europa League, while they lost 3-0 to Atletico Madrid in La Liga last weekend, so it has been a difficult last week for the Basque outfit.

Pellegrino Matarazzo's side have a record of two wins, one draw and three defeats from their six La Liga matches this season, with seven points leaving them 12th in the division.

La Real have won two of their last four league matches and have lost just once, but there is pressure on them in this match due to their recent two defeats.

Real Sociedad had a disappointing 2025-26 campaign, finishing down in 10th spot in the division, but they won last season's Copa del Rey title to secure Europa League qualification.

Valencia La Liga form:

Real Sociedad La Liga form:

Real Sociedad form (all competitions):

Team News

Valencia have a lengthy injury list at this moment in time, with Diego Lopez, Mouctar Diakhaby, Umar Sadiq, Cesar Tarrega, Dimitri Foulquier, Jose Copete and Sergi Canos all unavailable.

Rioja scored the winner off the bench against Alaves and is now expected to come into the side, most likely in a wide area.

Hugo Duro should continue through the middle for Los Che, with Arnaut Danjuma set to feature down the left.

As for Real Sociedad, Alvaro Odriozola remains a long-term absentee due to a serious knee injury, while Igor Zubeldia is likely to miss a third straight game due to a fitness issue.

There will be changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Bournemouth, with Goncalo Guedes, Luka Sucic, Carlos Soler and Alex Remiro among those set to be introduced back into the team on Sunday.

Mikel Oyarzabal, who helped Spain win the 2026 World Cup, is yet to score across seven appearances in all competitions this season, but he will again start through the middle.

Valencia possible starting lineup:

Dimitrievski; Maffeo, Pepelu, De Haas, Gaya; Mayol, Rodriguez; Rioja, Guerra, Danjuma; Duro

Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:

Remiro; Aramburu, Beitia, Sarr, Gomez; Herrera, Soler; Barrenetxea, Sucic, Guedes; Oyarzabal

We say: Valencia 2-2 Real Sociedad

It is difficult to back either side with any real confidence on Sunday. There has only been one stalemate in the last seven meetings between the two teams, but we are expecting an entertaining draw this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.