Villarreal progressed through to the next round of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night, courtesy of a solitary strike from Yeremi Pino, which proved enough to defeat Girona.
Real Sociedad didn’t have the same luck in their tie against Real Betis as they suffered a 3-1 defeat and were knocked out of the competition.
¡Resumen completo del triunfo amarillo en Montilivi!#CopaDelRey https://t.co/SkMQG3zWmC— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) January 26, 2021
¡Resumen completo del triunfo amarillo en Montilivi!#CopaDelRey https://t.co/SkMQG3zWmC
Focus now shifts back to La Liga this weekend and with just 3pts and one position separating these two clubs, this game looks set to be close and competitive throughout.
Recent encounters between Villarreal and Real Sociedad have been equally split with each team claiming two wins, one draw and suffering two defeats from their last five matches.
Both teams have scored in five of the duo’s last seven meetings and over 2.5 goals have been produced in four of those games.
Goals are to be expected in Saturday’s clash as three of Villarreal’s last six matches have produced over 3.5 goals and the same can be said for three of Real Sociedad’s last five outings.
Both teams have scored in five of the visitor’s last six fixtures, suggesting that neither side are likely to keep a clean sheet this weekend.
Villarreal could be without a selection of key players for this weekend’s clash as Juan Foyth, Samuel Chukwueze, Gerard Moreno, Mano Gaspar, Vicente Iborra and Alberto Moreno all have injuries and are either confirmed out or rated as doubtful.
The visitors could be without Jon Pacheco, David Silva, Miguel Angel Moya and Luca Sangalli for the trip to Villarreal due to injury.
In terms of an end result, Real Sociedad have drawn three of their last six matches in all competitions and both teams have played to a very similar standard this season, so another stalemate could be on the cards.
The goals are expected to flow on Saturday, at both ends of the pitch, but it will be hard to separate Villarreal and Real Sociedad on Saturday. A bet on both teams to score and over 2.5 goals looks like a sensible way to go on Saturday.