Real Sociedad vs Levante predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for the head-to-head, team news, predicted lineups and fantasy football picks as La Real aim for back-to-back wins.
| Date | Saturday 28th August 2021 |
| Kick-Off | 19:30 (local time) |
| Stadium | Reale Arena |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Real Sociedad vs Levante Preview
Real Sociedad and Levante face off in Donostia this weekend in what has the potential to be one of the most watchable games on MD3. Both sides rank among the neutral’s favourites and if you’re already sick of seeing 0-0 draws in LaLiga this season, this may be one to tune in for.
Hopefully that’s not going to curse things, but it’s certainly a match you’d expect Real Sociedad to look to play on the front foot. They started the season with a 4-2 defeat at Barcelona followed by a 1-0 win over Rayo last weekend at the Reale Arena. Summer tournaments have affected them more than some teams due to the number of talented young players they have, with several featuring at either Euro 2020 or the Olympics and in some cases both.
They’ve had quite a few injuries too and haven’t been at their best so far but were worthy winners against Rayo last weekend, although the only goal in the game did come from the penalty spot. Imanol will be hoping his team can be more clinical this season and they’ve added a new forward this week with the aim of bolstering their scoring options. Norwegian international Alexander Sørloth, who scored 34 goals for Trabzonspor in 2019/20, but later struggled to make much impact at RB Leipzig, is an interesting addition and will add to the competition in that part of the pitch.
As for Levante, they were involved in the game of the season so far last weekend, drawing 3-3 against Real Madrid. In a thrilling Second Half, Levante caused big problems for Los Blancos and took 2-1 and 3-2 leads before ultimately conceding a late leveller. A sublime volley from Jose Campana was among the Levante goals and they certainly look to have put their miserable end to last season behind them.
They do time and time again seem to raise their game against the stronger teams and Real Sociedad will be wary of the threat they can offer here. However Levante won’t be aided by the absence of their first choice goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez who saw red in the latter stages of the game against Madrid for handling outside of his area.
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 2 Real Sociedad Wins, 2 Levante Wins, 2 Draws.
- Both meetings last term ended with home victories.
- Levante have only won on 1 of their last 6 trips to Donostia.
- That was a 2-1 success in October 2019.
Team News
Asier Illarramendi, Diego Rico, Mat Ryan, Nacho Monreal and Carlos Fernandez are all sidelined through injury for Real Sociedad. Alexander Sorloth could play some part in attack following his move this week.
Aitor Fernandez is suspended for the visitors. Roberto Soldado and Dani Gomez are out injured.
Predicted Real Sociedad Starting Lineup:
Remiro – Aihen, Le Normand, Aritz, Gorosabel – Merino, Zubimendi, Silva – Barrenetxea, Isak, Oyarzabal (4-3-3)
Predicted Levante Starting Lineup:
Cardenas – Clerc, Pier, Vezo, Miramon – Campana, Rodoja, Melero, De Frutos – Marti, Morales (4-4-2)
Real Sociedad vs Levante Predictions
Score Prediction: Real Sociedad 2-1 Levante
With home advantage, you have to just favour La Real here although there ought to be a goal in it for Levante too. The early signs do suggest Levante may be quite a tough team to predict again this season so it would be no real surprise if they made a real game of this with La Real perhaps taking a bit of time to find their stride this term.
Fantasy Football Picks
- Fanteam – Mikel Oyarzabal
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Mark Sochon is an experienced football writer and editor of LaLiga Expert. Based in Madrid, he has covered La Liga and Spanish football for many years. He also covers Spanish and European football for Goal and Betfred, while his work has previously been published by the Guardian and World Soccer.