Real Sociedad will be bidding to record their first win of the 2023-24 La Liga season when they welcome Celta Vigo to the Reale Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The home side started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Girona, while Celta suffered a 2-0 defeat to Osasuna in their opening match of the new season.
Match preview
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Real Sociedad were fourth in Spain's top flight last season, picking up 71 points from their 38 matches during an excellent campaign, with the club finishing in the Champions League spots for the first time since 2013.
The White and Blues will be expected to again challenge for the top four this term, but their summer business has been modest, only bringing in Hamari Traore on a free transfer from Rennes, in addition to Andre Silva on loan from RB Leipzig.
There is still time for the Basque outfit to add to their squad, and the team looked in need of a boost in their opening match of the new season against Girona, when they were held to a 1-1 draw.
Takefusa Kubo sent Real Sociedad ahead in the fifth minute of Saturday's contest, but Girona managed to level the scores in the latter stages of the match through Artem Dovbyk.
Imanol Alguacil's team have not lost to Celta in Spain's top flight since June 2020, although the points were shared in a 1-1 draw in the corresponding match last season.
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Celta, meanwhile, started their campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Osasuna on Sunday; Ruben Garcia made the breakthrough in the 24th minute of the contest before Moi Gomez struck a second in the 74th minute.
It was a disappointing start to Rafael Benitez's time at the helm, and the Vigo outfit now face a tough trip to a Real Sociedad side looking to put their first three points of the season on the board.
Celta finished 13th in Spain's top flight last season, and they have now been present in each of the last 12 La Liga campaigns, but it has not been all plain sailing, having finished 17th three times in that period.
The Sky Blues have been active during the summer market, turning Carles Perez's loan move into a permanent deal, while they have also brought in Carl Starfelt, Carlos Dotor, Jonathan Bamba and Manu Sanchez.
Celta will be wary of suffering another defeat at this stage of the season, especially as two of their next four games after this one are against Real Madrid and Barcelona.
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Team News
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Real Sociedad will be missing three players through injury on Saturday, with Aritz Elustondo, Martin Merquelanz and new signing Andre Silva on the sidelines.
Umar Sadiq is back from a long-term injury but is unlikely to be considered for a start at this stage, so Carlos Fernandez is again set to operate through the middle.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Kubo will also feature in the final third of the field, while Benat Turrientes will hope to have done enough to retain his starting role in the middle of midfield.
As for Celta, Gabri Veiga is not expected to be involved, with the talented midfielder said to be on the verge of joining Napoli, with a move potentially going through ahead of this match.
The Sky Blues will also be without the services of goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin due to a long-term knee injury, but they are otherwise in good shape heading into the match.
Sanchez could come in for a start at left-back after appearing off the bench against Osasuna, but it might otherwise be the same XI that featured from the first whistle last time out, with Benitez unlikely to hit the panic button in terms of his team selection.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Traore, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Munoz; Mendez, Zubimendi, Turrientes; Kubo, Fernandez, Oyarzabal
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Villar; Mingueza, Aidoo, Nunez, Sanchez; Perez, Beltran, Sotelo, Bamba; Aspas, Larsen
We say: Real Sociedad 2-1 Celta Vigo
Celta are more than capable of making this an uncomfortable match for Real Sociedad, who were not at their best against Girona last time out. The Basque outfit have so much quality across the pitch, though, and we are expecting them to navigate their way to all three points here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
