Real Sociedad slumped to a third defeat in four matches last weekend in La Liga when they were handed a 2-1 defeat away from home at Leganes which resulted in Sunday’s hosts dropping down to 8th place in the Spanish top flight.
Previous defeats to Villarreal and Real Betis have also contributed to Real Sociedad’s recent slump in form but they’re still just 2 points adrift of 6th placed Atletico Madrid and the final Europa League qualifier spot.
Although Real Sociedad have managed to collect just 3 wins out of their last 8 matches overall in La Liga, the hosts have still produced some reasonable displays on home turf at their Reale Arena where they’ve suffered just 1 defeat out of their last 5 matches.
Wins against Eibar in an emphatic 4-1 victory along with a resounding 3-0 win against Mallorca have helped maintain Real Sociedad’s interest in a top six finish, while also picking up points in draws with Leganes and most impressive of all, Barcelona, in 1-1 and 2-2 draws respectively.
Athletic Bilbao’s dismal run without a win in the Spanish top flight continued last Sunday when they suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Getafe and although the visitors drew their previous 5 matches on the trot, the fact still remains that Bilbao have now had to endure a 7-match sequence without a win in La Liga.
An earlier 3-2 defeat away from home at Real Betis started this current slump in form which was slightly surprising as Athletic Bilbao had previously strung together a 3-match winning streak with victories over Levante, Osasuna and Granada.
Athletic’s last win in La Liga though came at the start of December which means that the visitors haven’t won a top flight league match in over 2 months now, and morale amongst the Bilbao camp must surely be fragile at best.
Bilbao have picked up 7 wins overall so far in this season’s La Liga campaign but 6 of these have been achieved on home turf at their San Mamés Barria, while only 1 has been collected on their travels to date, but they’ve also been involved in no fewer than 7 stalemates on the road - the highest number of draws away from home in the division.
With both teams heading into this clash on the back of defeats, we could see another stalemate unfold here on Sunday.