Barcelona vs Real Sociedad match preview and predictions for Wednesday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as the early leaders target a rare win at Camp Nou.
- DATE: Wednesday 16th December 2020
- KICK-OFF: 21:00 (local time)
- VENUE: Camp Nou
- COMPETITION: LaLiga
Barcelona vs Real Sociedad Preview
Attention will turn to Camp Nou on Wednesday for what could be an intriguing LaLiga contest between Barcelona and current leaders Real Sociedad. The Catalans are bidding to get back into the title race by putting a strong run of results together. This is their second game in a seven day period which sees them play three home league fixtures.
The first resulted in victory, although not a particularly convincing one, against Levante. Leo Messi scored the only goal of the game in some style but again the Catalans were frustrated by well organised opponents who packed the centre of the pitch and made it tough for Barcelona to break through.
That’s likely to be a recurring theme for Barcelona and it’s not going to be easy for Ronald Koeman to find a solution when his forward-line basically consists of number tens whose natural tendency is to do a similar thing. The one positive for the likes of Messi and Griezmann here is that they should at least get some space to play in as Real Sociedad will rightly come believing they can get a result.
The chances of them doing that aren’t exactly backed up by a 20-game losing streak for La Real on this ground. However seldom have they travelled to Camp Nou looking so strong and there isn’t really a debate to be had as to which of these teams has played the more impressive football so far this term.
Real Sociedad have 9 more points than Barcelona, while also scoring more goals and conceding less. However their form has just dipped over the past fortnight with the sheer volume of games starting to catch up with them. Imanol’s men head into this match on the back of six straight draws in all competitions and they really did not play well in the 1-1 draw against Eibar at the weekend at Anoeta, although they did rest a number of key players.
Read our Copa del Rey previews here!
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 5 Barcelona Wins, 1 Draw.
- Barcelona have won all of their last 20 home games against La Real.
- However Real Sociedad have only lost by a single goal on each of their last four league visits.
- The Catalans are unbeaten in 10 overall against Real Sociedad now since a 1-0 defeat at Anoeta in April 2016.
Team News
Barcelona have no fresh injury problems. The likes of Pedri and Francisco Trincao are pushing for starts.
Nacho Monreal, Portu and David Silva should all return for Real Sociedad having been rested against Eibar. Key man Mikel Oyarzabal is still out injured.
Predicted Barcelona Starting Lineup:
Ter Stegen – Alba, Lenglet, Araujo, Dest – De Jong, Busquets – Coutinho, Griezmann, Braithwaite – Messi (4-2-3-1)
Predicted Real Sociedad Starting Lineup:
Remiro – Monreal, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Gorosabel – Merino, Zubimendi, Silva – Januzaj, Isak, Portu (4-3-3)
Barcelona vs Real Sociedad Predictions
Score Prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad
You might have backed a fresh Real Sociedad, free from European distractions, to have come here and caused an upset or at least finally ended their woeful run of defeats on this ground. They did rest a number of key players at the weekend but their open style might just suit Barcelona to some extent and Ronald Koeman’s side may just edge it with Mikel Oyarzabal missing again for La Real.
LaLiga Betting Tips (18+)
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