Villarreal vs Real Sociedad Preview

These sides were one of the most impressive mid-table teams last season but they have not really lived up to that standard this season due to inconsistencies.

Villarreal however are beginning to put some good results together.

They head into this game in 5^th position after back-to-back wins including one at the Bernabeu.

They have lost Cedric Bakambu to the Chinese league but judging by their current form his absence has not affected them as bad as first thought.

They have won 4 of their last 5 league games and conceded only 2 goals in that run of games.

Villarreal have scored an average of 1.8 goals per game at home this season and have a 44% clean sheet ratio there also.

For La Real, they are the perfect definition of a team that is performing below what they should be doing.

Real head into this game without a win in 2018 and Eusebio is beginning to feel the pressure as his side slides further towards the relegation zone.

They have some of the best attacking talents in the league, yet they have taken only 2 points from their last 5 trips and even more worrying is that they scored a total of just 3 goals in those matches which suggests they might have started having problems scoring goals.

They also have the 4^th worst defensive record this season with 1.8 goals conceded per game.

Head-to-head things have been even in the last 5 meetings – Real won two, Villarreal won 2 and the 5th game ended in a tie.

Results of each team’s last 5 matches across all leagues and competitions

Villarreal

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
W	Villarreal		2-1		Levante	20 Jan, 2018	Spanish Primera División
W	Real Madrid		0-1		Villarreal	13 Jan, 2018	Spanish Primera División
W	Villarreal		2-1		Leganes	10 Jan, 2018	Spanish Copa del Rey
D	Villarreal		1-1		Deportivo La Coruña	7 Jan, 2018	Spanish Primera División
L	Leganes		1-0		Villarreal	4 Jan, 2018	Spanish Copa del Rey

Real Sociedad

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
L	Real Sociedad		1-2		Celta Vigo	21 Jan, 2018	Spanish Primera División
L	Real Sociedad		2-4		Barcelona	14 Jan, 2018	Spanish Primera División
L	Leganes		1-0		Real Sociedad	7 Jan, 2018	Spanish Primera División
W	Real Sociedad		3-1		Sevilla FC	20 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División
D	Athletic Bilbao		0-0		Real Sociedad	16 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División

H2H

LAST FIVE GAMES					DATE	COMPETITION
Real Sociedad		3-0		Villarreal	25 Aug, 2017	Spanish Primera División
Real Sociedad		0-1		Villarreal	19 Feb, 2017	Spanish Primera División
Villarreal		1-1		Real Sociedad	11 Jan, 2017	Spanish Copa del Rey
Real Sociedad		3-1		Villarreal	4 Jan, 2017	Spanish Copa del Rey
Villarreal		2-1		Real Sociedad	18 Sep, 2016	Spanish Primera División

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera:

Spanish Primera Table

Spanish Primera Results