Real Sociedad vs Villarreal Preview

La Liga resumes this Friday with Real Sociedad continuing their push for a place in Europe next season when they host struggling Villarreal.

Sociedad ended a run of five games without a win last time when they beat ten-men Mallorca 2-1 away from home. Despite the narrow win, manager Imanol Alguacil insisted that his side deserved the victory.

That win helped keep Sociedad’s bid for European qualification on track, though they lead Real Betis and Valencia by just four points. With a tough Champions League last-16 fixture on the horizon against Paris Saint-Germain, La Real can’t take their eye off their La Liga commitments.

They need to make up ground on the top five, having lost touch with them during their recent poor run, and they could do so here as they aim to secure back-to-back home H2H victories over upcoming Villarreal for the first time in their club’s history.

Their visitors Villarreal will be desperate to end their own poor run of three straight draws and a record of one win in five games (D4). Although they come into this tie with the division’s second-longest unbeaten sequence behind Real Madrid’s 19-game streak, they remain a long way off the European spots.

But the good news is that they are no longer in the relegation fight that threatened them during the first half of the season so they can now start thinking about a potential top-six finish. In order to succeed, the Yellow Submarine must overcome inconsistency on the road in La Liga (W3, D4, L5).

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera Liga:

Spanish Primera Liga Table