Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao

Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao go head-to-head at the Reale Arena in an all-Basque La Liga match-up.

A 4-2 away defeat to Barcelona on the opening La Liga weekend now looks like a remote memory as the hosts take the field unbeaten in ten consecutive league matches (W7, D3). Real Sociedad’s upturn in form rests on a rock-solid backline that remains the only one in La Liga yet to concede a goal at home this season (W4, D1). But while they’ve impressed defensively, a return of 0.8 goals scored per La Liga home game this term is a reason for concern. Yet, it’s worth noting that ‘La Real’ have never lost a Basque derby at home in La Liga under the current manager Imanol Alguacil (GP9 – W6, D3). Alguacil’s invincible record in the Basque derbies at home could stay intact, as his side haven’t lost any of their last four top-flight H2Hs in San Sebastian (W3, D1).

On the other hand, the visitors have responded to a 2-1 home defeat to Rayo Vallecano in mid-September with a run of four consecutive La Liga matches without losing (W2, D2) to stay within touching distance from the current top-four. Unsurprisingly, both Athletic Bilbao’s wins in the abovementioned sequence yielded a single-goal margin, which has been the case in two of their three La Liga away victories this calendar year. ‘Los Leones’ have gone unbeaten in their opening five league travels this season (W1, D4), though they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in the last two after doing so in the first three. A lack of scoring prowess on the road has seen Athletic score under 1.5 goals in each of their last 13 La Liga away matches.