A revitalised Real Sociedad team will be bidding to make it three La Liga victories in a row when they continue their campaign with a home fixture against Mallorca on Saturday afternoon.
La Real are currently eighth in the La Liga table, seven points behind sixth-placed Real Betis in the battle for Europe, while Mallorca occupy 10th, one point behind their opponents in this weekend's contest.
Match preview
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Real Sociedad have had a testing season in La Liga, but the Basque outfit could finish on a positive note, and a European spot for next season is not entirely out of the question approaching the final straight.
Indeed, Imanol Alguacil's side have put themselves back in contention with successive wins, beating Real Valladolid and Las Palmas, which has moved them into eighth position in the table, seven points off both sixth-placed Real Betis and fifth-placed Villarreal.
La Real actually face Villarreal on April 20, so two more wins in their next two would leave them in a strong position to challenge for a European finish, which would certainly have been the goal at the start of the campaign.
Real Sociedad have picked up 23 points from their 15 home league matches this season, but Mallorca also have a respectable record on the road, claiming 17 points from 14 games, recording five wins in the process.
La Real have won two of their last three league games against Mallorca, including a 1-0 success on home soil last term, but they were beaten 1-0 in the reverse match between the two sides earlier this season.
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Mallorca have a record of 11 wins, seven draws and 12 defeats from their 30 league matches this season, with a total of 40 points leaving them in 10th spot, one point behind their opponents on Saturday afternoon.
Jagoba Arrasate's side will enter this match off the back of successive defeats to Valencia and Celta Vigo, while they have not been victorious on their travels since before the winter break back in December.
In all competitions, the Pirates have lost five and drawn two of their last seven games on their travels, demonstrating the size of their task against a Real Sociedad outfit that appear to finally be hitting their stride.
Mallorca finished 15th in Spain's top flight last term, so there was plenty of room for improvement during the 2024-25 campaign, and a top-half finish for the club would represent an excellent season.
Team News
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Real Sociedad will be without the services of Arsen Zakharyan and Jon Pacheco through injury, while Igor Zubeldia, Alvaro Odriozola, Sheraldo Becker, Nayef Aguerd and Brais Mendez are all fitness doubts for the contest.
Should Zubeldia and Aguerd both miss out, then there is likely to be a start at the back for 18-year-old Jon Martin.
Head coach Alguacil may also make a change in the middle of midfield, with Luka Sucic potentially being introduced, but there will again definitely be starts for key duo Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Oyarzabal.
Mallorca, meanwhile, have a number of fitness doubts, with Takuma Asano, Manu Morlanes, Vedat Muriqi, Robert Navarro all potentially being unavailable for selection this weekend.
As a result, Dani Rodriguez could be asked to play further forward in order to provide the support for Abdon Prats, with Manu Morlanes, Samu Costa and Sergi Darder then operating in central midfield.
Antonio Sanchez and Johan Mojica will also be in the manager's thinking when it comes to potential alterations on Saturday.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Aramburu, Martin, Elustondo, Lopez; Gomez, Sucic, Zubimendi, Marin, Barrenetxea; Oyarzabal
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Greif; Maffeo, D Lopez, Raillo, Copete, Lato; Morlanes, S Costa, Darder; D Rodriguez, Prats
We say: Real Sociedad 1-0 Mallorca
We are not expecting many goals on Saturday, and this might not be a classic, but Real Sociedad need to win in order to keep their hopes of a European finish alive, and we are backing La Real to triumph this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
