Real Sociedad are in action against a familiar foe when they go head to head with Osasuna in a warm-up game at the Instalaciones de Zuazua on Wednesday.
Los Rojillos were left disappointed last time out when they played out a stalemate with Segunda Division side Mirandes while Imanol Alguacil's men had to dig deep to secure a narrow victory over Japanese outfit Gamba Osaka.
Match preview
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Osasuna were involved in a second consecutive share of the spoils in pre-season as they played out a 1-1 draw with Mirandes when the sides squared off last Thursday.
Following a goalless first half at the Campo San Francisco, 21-year-old winger Iker Benito broke the deadlock with a 57th-minute effort but Yidne Pinto struck with three minutes left in the game to draw Mirandes level.
Osasuna have now played out three consecutive stalemates, having closed out the 2023-24 La Liga campaign with a 1-1 draw against Villarreal on May 25 before a goalless draw with Huesca in the first pre-season outing on July 24.
While Vicente Moreno's men enjoyed a solid league campaign last season, a run of just one win in their final seven matches saw them fail to secure European qualification for the second consecutive campaign.
Osasuna picked up 12 wins and nine draws from their 38 matches to collect 45 points and finish 11th in the La Liga standings, 12 points adrift of seventh-placed Real Betis in the Europa Conference League qualification spot.
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Real Sociedad, on the other hand, will be looking to build upon last season's performance as they secured a sixth-placed finish in the league to clinch a Europa League berth.
Imanol Alguacil's men picked up 60 points from their 38 games, 11 points fewer than their tally from the 2022-23 campaign when they finished fourth in the standings to end their nine-year absence from the Champions League.
Real Sociedad head into Wednesday's game off the back of their third pre-season fixture as they picked up a 1-0 victory over Gamba Osaka at the Suita City Stadium last Thursday.
Experienced defender Aritz Elustondo, who made 15 La Liga appearances last season, came up clutch for the Spaniards as he scored four minutes after the hour mark to hand them a narrow win.
The White and Blues have now won two of their first three warm-up matches, beating J1 League outfits Tokyo Verdy and Gamba Osaka on either of a penalty-shootout defeat against Alaves after on July 20.
Next up for Sociedad is an Osasuna side whom they met three times last season, with Los Rojillos claiming one win and one draw in their two La Liga encounters and suffering a 2-0 defeat in their Copa del Rey last-16 clash on January 17.
Team News
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Alguacil named a strong starting XI in last week's clash against Gamba Osaka and could field a similar side on Wednesday, with Ander Barrenetxea, Umar Sadiq and Takefusa Kubo leading the Sociedad attack.
Mikel Merino has been subject to transfer speculation and the 28-year-old, who was a part of the Spain squad that clinched the Euro 2024 title, is expected to sit out this one.
Sergio Gomez, who recently signed from Premier League champions Manchester City, is currently on duty with Spain's Men Olympics Team in France and is also out of contention for the White and Blues.
On the injury front, Sociedad will be without Aihen Munoz, who is recuperating from an ACL injury.
Off the back of an eye-catching cameo against Mirandes, Benito, who spent the whole of last season on loan with Andorra, could come into the Osasuna XI.
At the defensive end of the pitch, Moreno could stick to the back four of Nacho Vidal, Jorge Herrando, Alejandro Catena and Abel Bretones, with 31-year-old Sergio Herrera starting in goal once again.
Spanish midfielder Kike Barja continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining an ACL injury in March and the 27-year-old is out of contention for Los Rojillos.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Marrero; Lopez, Elustondo, Zubeldia, Traore; Marin, Gonzalez, Mendez; Barrenetxea, Sadiq, Kubo
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Vidal, Herrando, Catena, Bretones; Torro; Pena, Martinez, Gomez, Benito; Budimir
We say: Real Sociedad 3-1 Osasuna
While the full-time result here remains somewhat unimportant as both sides look to get some minutes into the leg and build fitness, we expect a thrilling contest nonetheless. We predict that Sociedad will continue from where they left off against Gamba Osaka and secure another victory here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
