Real Sociedad vs Villarreal Prediction & Match Preview

Real Sociedad vs Villarreal
Spain – LaLiga
Date: Sunday, 5 January 2019
Kick-off at 13:00 UK/ 14:00 CET
Venue: Reale Seguros Stadium (San Sebastian).

Villarreal have slowly started to turn their season around, but will be fiercely tested this Sunday at San Sebastian. The usual tough welcomes given out by Sociedad at their home, will surely give a sleepless weekend for the fans of the Yellow Submarines.

Real Sociedad vs Villarreal Head-to-head (h2h)

• The last time these two met, Villarreal won 0-1 on the road.
• Eight of the previous eleven wins went to Villarreal.
• Seven of the past ten wins at this venue had gone to the guests.
• Sociedad scored three or more goals in two of the previous four encounters at this ground.

Real Sociedad vs Villarreal Prediction

Sociedad had taken on a newly-promoted Osasuna the last match-day. The latter had been reduced to ten on the pitch due to a red card, and still Sociedad conceded three goals. They did deliver the win with a 4-3 scoreline, but the performance of their defense was severely under par.

Meanwhile, Villarreal had recorded a tough-fought win at home the previous game week, as they defeated Getafe with a 1-0 scorecard.

Home advantage will play a role in determining the outcome of the game this Sunday. The prime reason for this deduction is the struggles of Villarreal away from home this season. They have a total of just four wins on the road in 2019-20.

One of these wins had come in the Copa del Rey against minnows, and two of the other three wins had come against the 19th placed Leganes, and the 20th placed Espanyol.

On the other hand, Sociedad have lost just twice in total this season in front of the home crowd. In fact, their latest home game had been against defending champions Barcelona, and then they held Lionel Messi and co to a 2-2 draw.

Moreover, Real are on a five-match unbeaten run, and they scored a total of 19 goals in the process.

Considering these observations, it’s expected that the hosts Sociedad should do the most on the pitch to secure the win.

However, take into account the recent defensive lapses of Real, and couple that fact with the current rise in form of Villarreal.

To make the points clearer – Sociedad have not kept a clean sheet at home in their last seven attempts, and conceded three goals in their latest game alone, which was against a newly promoted squad. Going on, Villarreal are on a three-match winning run, and a four-game unbeaten run.

In this process, they defeated the likes of Sevila, and Getafe, and held the indomitable Atleti to a 0-0 draw.

More importantly, Villarreal have dominated this opponent over the course of the last few years in h2h clashes. In fact, Villarreal had recorded eight of the past eleven h2h wins, and seven of the former ten at this venue.

Considering these observations, it’s deduced that Sociedad have a very slight chance of keeping a clean sheet this Sunday.

Real Sociedad vs Villarreal Betting Tips

• Draw No Bet: Real Sociedad @ 1.44 (4/9)

• Both Teams to Score @ 1.60 (3/5).