Sporting CP vs Real Sociedad

Estádio do Algarve is the venue as Sporting Lisbon and Real Sociedad lock horns in a pre-season friendly for the first time in a decade.

Sporting CP cannot forget last season’s Primeira Liga disappointment soon enough after failing to secure Champions League qualification, finishing four points adrift of third-placed Sporting Braga despite mustering a phenomenal 14-game unbeaten streak toward the end of the season (W11, D3). Keen to rectify that mistake, Ruben Amorim’s men have flown out of the traps in pre-season, putting together back-to-back friendly wins over Estrela and Maritimo by a total score of 7-1 before being held to a dismal 1-1 draw by Genk last week. However, ‘Los Leoes’ will be confident about troubling the scoreboard here, having found the net in 11 straight matches in the lead-up to this clash. It’s also worth mentioning they won their only previous friendly against Sociedad in the 21st century, running out 2-0 victors in 2013.

As for Real Sociedad, they secured a top-four La Liga finish for the first time since 2012/13 last season, pipping fifth-placed Villarreal to the final Champions League qualification spot by seven points. Imanol Alguacil’s team finished off the 2022/23 campaign on a high, racking up three victories in their last four league matches (L1), though each win came by a single-goal margin. However, ‘La Real’ experienced a woeful start to their pre-season preparations, suffering an abysmal 3-1 defeat to fellow La Liga rivals Osasuna last week, with all four goals in that fixture coming before halftime.