Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo

Celta Vigo’s away campaign in the 2023/24 La Liga season kicks off at the Reale Arena as they meet a more heavily fancied Real Sociedad.

After blowing hot and cold across five pre-season outings (W2, D1, L2), Real Sociedad opened the new La Liga campaign with an underwhelming 1-1 home draw against Girona. Following three consecutive league wins when opening the scoring, Sociedad bucked that trend on the opening weekend. Last season’s fourth-place finish set the benchmark high for Imanol Alguacil’s side as they aim to build on an eye-catching ten-game unbeaten home league run (W6, D4). Despite their impressive home form, it’s worth noting ‘La Real’ never scored more than twice during that streak. Likewise, they’ve failed to hit a three-goal barrier in any of their last ten home meetings with Celta in La Liga (W5, D2, L3) since an action-packed 4-3 win in 2013.

In the meantime, Celta Vigo ensured La Liga survival only barely last season, finishing three points clear of the relegation zone despite losing five consecutive away league games toward the end of the 2022/23 campaign. Desperate to avoid another frustrating year, Celta sacked underperforming boss Carlos Carvalhal at the end of last season, bringing experienced European manager Rafa Benitez to take his place. However, the club’s poorly-managed recruitment campaign in the summer resulted in a dismal 2-0 home loss to Osasuna at the start of 2023/24, reinforcing fans’ fears about another season-long fight against the drop. Benitez will be desperate to get off the mark this weekend, but Celta’s three-game winless run at the Reale Arena (D1, L2) looks ominous.