Teams form suggests this is not going to be a straightforward game for the hosts as the La Liga weekend begins in the Basque Country.
The match between Real Sociedad and Villarreal will take place on the 23rd of February at the Reale Arena.
The hosts begin this round of games in 6th place on 40 points while the visitors are in 13th place on 26 points.
🔙 ¡Está de vuelta! pic.twitter.com/sgdcgEnitr— Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedad) February 21, 2024
🔙 ¡Está de vuelta! pic.twitter.com/sgdcgEnitr
Real Sociedad come into the match on the back of a 2-1 win at Mallorca in La Liga last weekend.
It was Mallorca who opened the scoring in just the 4th minute but Real Sociedad struck back 7 minutes before the interval.
Mallorca had a player sent off on the stroke of half time but it took until the 93rd minute for Real Sociedad to break them down and score the winner.
The win over Mallorca was the first victory for Real Sociedad in their last 6 fixtures in all competitions.
There have been defeats against Osasuna at home in La Liga and Paris Saint-Germain away in the Champions League.
Real Sociedad played out draws against Rayo Vallecano at home and Girona away in La Liga plus Mallorca away in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Stats show Real Sociedad have a good record of 23 undefeated games from their last 25 home encounters in all competitions.
However, they have failed to win any of their 4 most recent home La Liga fixtures and have won just 3 of their last 17 home meetings with Villarreal in the league.
Villarreal travel to the Reale Arena having been held to a 1-1 draw at home against Getafe in La Liga last weekend.
It was Getafe who opened the scoring in the 24th minute and they led at half time. Villarreal scored the equaliser in the 56th minute to take a point.
The draw with Getafe means Villarreal are undefeated in each of their last 5 matches, all of which have been played in La Liga.
There have been draws with Mallorca and Cadiz at home plus Alaves away. Villarreal also recorded an excellent 5-3 victory at Barcelona in the league.
Under 2.5 goals have been scored in the 3 of the most recent games in all competitions of Villarreal. They have won only 1 of their last 7 away La Liga fixtures.
Team news: Real Sociedad are without several players due to injury, including Sheraldo Becker, Álvaro Odriozola, Kieran Tierney, Martín Merquelanz, Aihen Muñoz, and Carlos Fernández.
There are also doubts over the fitness of Aritz Elustondo and Mikel Oyarzabal.
Villarreal make the trip without Alejandro Baena, Alexander Sörloth, Ramón Terrats, Juan Foyth, and Denis Suarez, who are all in the treatment room. Alfonso Pedraza is a doubt due to an ankle problem.
Predictive analysis suggests this is going to be a close game and given the form of both teams, the match could end level. We also expect to see under 2.5 goals scored, with 1-1 a potential correct score.