Barcelona fell 2-0 to Real Madrid last weekend in El Clasico losing their grip on first place in La Liga. Now, the Blaugrana aim to rebound and take on top-four gate crashers Real Sociedad at Camp Nou.
Real Sociedad are coming off a magical night on Wednesday as they progressed to the Copa del Rey final. The Royal will play in their first Copa del Rey final in over 30 years against either Athletic Club or Granada. Real Sociedad go into the weekend on a six-match winning streak in all competitions.
Imanol Alguacil’s team took points off of Barcelona when they met at Anoeta earlier this season. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot but Antoine Griezmann pegged Real Sociedad back.
Luis Suarez put Barcelona up 2-1 just after halftime until Alex Isak scored the leveller in the 62nd minute. Real Sociedad are winless in their last nine matches against Barcelona. Seven of those fixtures ended in wins for the Blaugrana.
Real Sociedad have not won against Barcelona since 2016 at Anoeta and the Royal have not won at Camp Nou in over two decades. It won’t be easy for them to beat Barcelona at the weekend but Real Sociedad are in form going into the match on Saturday.
Barcelona have endured a number of injuries this season. In fact, they have seen 29 players to 16 different players during the campaign.
Long-term injured duo Suarez and Ousmane Dembele are both ruled out of the game. Dembele is not set to come back this season and Barcelona have been criticised this week for their treatment of the Frenchman’s injuries. Sergi Roberto is a doubt but should be back soon from his injury.
Alguacil has two players struggling with injuries. Both Diego Llorente and Asier Illarramendi are doubts for the game on Saturday at Camp Nou.
Real Sociedad have lost back to back games in La Liga on the road. They were outscored 5-1 in those road games against Real Betis and Leganes.
Barcelona have the league’s best home points total. They have taken 37 points at Camp Nou and have not suffered a loss. The Catalan club have scored 44 goals and conceded 12 times at home.
The Blaugrana have dominated their series at home against Real Sociedad. That trend should continue this weekend as Barcelona continue their great home form against Real Sociedad. Barcelona’s defence has been suspect, so expect them to concede a goal but win with over 2.5 goals tallied.