Real Sociedad vs Elche predictions and match preview for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as La Real aim to get back to winning ways.
| Date | Sunday 19th March 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 16:15 (CET) |
| Stadium | Reale Arena |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Real Sociedad vs Elche Preview
Top four hopefuls Real Sociedad host bottom club Elche this weekend in LaLiga. On paper, there should only be one winner, although recent results cast a little bit of doubt on that.
La Real are enduring a really poor run of form and they’ll probably be grateful for the international break which follows this game. Since an impressive 3-2 win at Espanyol, they’ve really lost their way with no wins in 6 matches in all competitions and just as worryingly only 2 goals scored during that spell. The run culminated with European elimination on Thursday night as they failed to break down Roma in the Last 16 of the Europa League.
Real Sociedad do have spells like this where they struggle for goals despite often dominating games. It just feels like all of their attacking players are in poor form right now with Take Kubo and Alexander Sorloth not as strong as they were earlier in the campaign and the same could be said of Brais Mendez who was a regular source of goals before the World Cup break.
Elche meanwhile are enjoying their best spell of the season, although that certainly isn’t saying much. They are hoping to make it three games unbeaten for the first time in the 2022/23 campaign here following on from a surprise win at Mallorca followed by a draw at home to Real Valladolid. They were 2-0 up in the game prior to that against Betis too, so Real Sociedad have to be a bit wary here.
Defensively though, Elche may struggle to frustrate Real Sociedad in the way some of their recent opponents have. They’ve been leaking goals and making defensive errors throughout the campaign and that will be the main area they need to improve on this summer as they look to build ahead of what will surely still be a Segunda Division campaign despite their recent improvements.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Real Sociedad
| INJURED | Merquelanz, Sadiq |
| DOUBTFUL | Elustondo |
| BANNED | Merino, Carlos Fernandez |
Possible XI: Remiro – Rico, Le Normand, Pacheco, Gorosabel – Zubimendi – Kubo, Silva, Brais Mendez – Oyarzabal, Sorloth (4-1-3-2)
Coach: Imanol Alguacil
Elche
| INJURED | Magallan, Roco |
| DOUBTFUL | Blanco |
| BANNED | Cheikh, Milla |
Possible XI: Badia – Bigas, Verdu, Palacios – Clerc, Gumbau, Mascarell, Morente – Fidel, Nteka – Boye (3-4-2-1)
Coach: Pablo Machin
Score Prediction: Real Sociedad 1-0 Elche
Real Sociedad aren’t playing well so this could be an awkward afternoon for them but it’s hard to see Elche’s defence having the concentration and ability to shut their opponents out for 90 minutes so a narrow home win could be the outcome.
PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.
