Rayo Vallecano will travel to the Reale Arena for Thursday's meeting with Real Sociedad in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.
The Basque outfit got the better of fourth-tier Ponferradina in the previous round, while Rayo dispatched Segunda Division's Racing Ferrol to continue their cup journey.
Match preview
© Imago
Real Sociedad are making a seventh consecutive appearance in the last 16 after negotiating their way through the first three rounds of the Copa del Rey.
After thrashing Jove Espanol 5-0 in their opening cup game, La Real were given a much tougher test in the second-round tie against fourth-tier Conquense, claiming a 1-0 extra-time victory to set up a meeting with Ponferradina.
The Basque side managed to make lighter work of their third-round clash, with Mikel Oyarzabal and Brais Mendez finding the net in a 2-0 victory in Real Sociedad's first outing of 2025.
La Real backed up that result with a 1-0 victory in Saturday's home league game against Villarreal, which came courtesy of Take Kubo's fourth goal of the season, moving them up to seventh place and to within two points of the top six.
As a result of that narrow win, Real Sociedad have now five of their last six competitive home matches, keeping clean sheets in each of those six games, meaning they have not conceded in the Reale Arena since they lost 2-0 to Osasuna at the end of October.
They can also take confidence from the fact they have won each of their last three last-16 ties, including a 2-0 away victory over Osasuna at this stage of last season's competition.
© Imago
Rayo Vallecano are making their second straight appearance in the last-16 stage after scoring 11 goals in three matches to set up Thursday's meeting with Real Sociedad.
After sweeping past Villamuriel via a 5-0 scoreline, Rayo fought back from two goals down to clinch a 3-2 victory over Unionista de Salamanca in the second round, before they went on to claim a 3-1 win over second-tier Racing Ferrol thanks to a Jorge de Frutos brace and a Pacha Espino effort.
They followed their third-round win with a successful outing in Friday's La Liga clash against Celta Vigo, with Adri Embarba and De Frutos netting a goal apiece to clinch a 2-1 victory, moving them up to ninth place in the standings.
Impressively, Los Franjirrojos have now avoided defeat in each of their last seven competitive matches (W4, D3) since they lost 2-1 at home to Athletic Club at the start of December.
They will be desperate to extend that unbeaten run in Thursday's away trip, with the visitors looking to win at the Reale Arena for the second time this season after collecting a 2-1 victory in August's league fixture.
If they are able to repeat that success, Rayo will progress to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey for the first time since 2021-22 when they went all the way to the final four under Andoni Iraola.
Team News
© Imago
Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil are unable to call upon the defensive duo of Alvaro Odriozola and Hamari Traore due to quad and knee injuries respectively.
Martin Zubimendi and Aritz Elustondo will have to be assessed by the club's medical staff after they picked up knocks in Monday's win over Villarreal.
Defender Igor Zubeldia will be available for selection after serving a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Meanwhile, Rayo may have to cope without goalkeeper Augusto Batalla, who has missed the last two matches with a knee injury.
Dani Cardenas is set to make a third consecutive start between the posts, while Ivan Balliu and Espino could come into the backline for Thursday's fixture.
Oscar Valentin could come into the side to fresh up the midfield, where he could be joined by Pathe Ciss, who is expected to retain his place, especially as he will have to serve a one-match ban for the upcoming league game against Osasuna for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Marrero; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Pacheco, Lopez; Kubo, Mendez, Turrientes, Sucic, Gomez; Oyarzabal
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Cardenas; Balliu, Mumin, Lejeune, Chavarria; Valentin, Ciss; De Frutos, Palazon, Embarba; Camello
We say: Real Sociedad 2-0 Rayo Vallecano
Rayo may have already won at the Reale Arena this season, but this time around, they will face a Real Sociedad side that have won five of their last six matches, and we think the hosts will make full use of home advantage to dispatch their fellow La Liga side in Thursday's cup fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
