Real Sociedad will be aiming to make it three straight wins in all competitions when they continue their 2024-25 La Liga campaign with a home fixture against Osasuna on Sunday night.
The home side have underwhelmed domestically this season, only collecting 12 points from 10 matches to sit down in 11th spot in the La Liga table, but Osasuna are up in eighth, having picked up 15 points from their opening 10 games.
Match preview
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Real Sociedad have found it difficult to get going in the early months of the La Liga campaign, boasting a record of three wins, three draws and four defeats from their 10 matches to sit down in 11th spot in the table on 12 points.
Goals have been an issue, only finding the back of the net on eight occasions, with only Leganes (six), Getafe (seven) and Valencia (seven) scoring fewer, but they have been solid defensively, conceding just eight times.
Real Sociedad finished sixth in La Liga last season, but they are five points off sixth-placed Mallorca at this stage of proceedings and have looked short of being a challenger to finish in the European spots once again.
Imanol Alguacil's side have just started to build some momentum, though, picking up a welcome point against Atletico Madrid at the start of the month before recording a 1-0 victory away to Girona last weekend.
The Basque outfit will enter this match off the back of a European win, meanwhile, having beaten Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League on Thursday night to move into 17th spot in the Europa League table.
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Osasuna, meanwhile, boast a record of four wins, three draws and three defeats from their 10 La Liga matches this season, which has left them in eighth position in the division on 15 points.
Vicente Moreno's side are the only La Liga team to have beaten Barcelona this season, recording a 4-2 win over the division leaders at the end of September, but they have struggled in their last two games, drawing with Getafe before losing to Real Betis.
Los Rojillos finished 11th in Spain's top flight last season, but they were seventh in 2022-23 and certainly look capable of claiming a top-half spot this term, already scoring an impressive 14 goals in La Liga.
Osasuna have conceded 16 times, though, which is among the poorer defensive records in the division, and that could potentially hold them back when it comes to pushing for a possible European spot.
The Pamplona outfit actually beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in the corresponding game during the 2023-24 campaign, but they have lost five of their last seven La Liga fixtures with Sunday's opponents.
Team News
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Real Sociedad will be without the services of Alex Remiro, Aihen Munoz, Pablo Marin, Hamari Traore and Arsen Zakharyan for the contest with Osasuna.
Head coach Alguacil will make changes to the side that started against Maccabi Tel Aviv, with Sergio Gomez, Ander Barrenetxea and Orri Oskarsson expected to earn recalls on Sunday night.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Zubimendi are certain to be among the starters for the home side, while there should be a spot in the midfield for Brais Mendez.
As for Osasuna, Kike Barja is a long-term absentee with a serious knee injury, while Iker Munoz remains unavailable for selection.
Head coach Moreno is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the defeat to Real Betis last time out, with the same XI potentially taking to the field on Sunday night.
Bryan Zaragoza and Ante Budimir have both been in strong form in the early stages of the campaign, and the pair are expected to be joined by Ruben Garcia in the final third for this contest.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Merrero; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Aguerd, S Gomez; Oyarzabal, Sucic, Zubimendi, Mendez, Barrenetxea; Oskarsson
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Areso, Catena, Boyomo, Bretones; Ibanez, Torro, Oroz; Ruben Garcia, Budimir, Zaragoza
We say: Real Sociedad 2-1 Osasuna
Osasuna are yet to win on their travels this season, picking up just two points from their four matches, and although Real Sociedad's home form this season has been disappointing, we are expecting the hosts to secure a narrow victory on Sunday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
