La Liga is on course to secure an extra participant in next year’s UCL. This would mean that the 5th-placed team this season will also get to experience midweek football on the greatest of stages. So far, it is Villarreal that is occupying this spot, but pursuers are very close. As for Real Sociedad, despite a disappointing 10th spot right now, the team is just 2 points off 8th place, which will ensure European football next season.
Villarreal Team News
After two consecutive losses to Alaves and Real Madrid, Villarreal had to pick itself up to save their UCL bid. The team managed to do just that, as they are now on a 3-game unbeaten streak, winning away to Getafe and Betis, while holding Bilbao to a 0-0 draw at home. Speaking of games at home, Villarreal will be eager to secure the 3 points against Sociedad at home, as right now the Yellow Submarine hasn’t won any of its last 3 La Liga matches as hosts. Villarreal’s matches this season have produced a fair number of goals, with Marcelino’s team rarely failing to score, but at the same time failing to keep clean sheets just as often. Overall, 3 of the Yellow Submarine’s last 5 league matches produced over 2.5 goals. The same numbers are true if we look at their home games only.
Real Sociedad Team News
Real Sociedad might have hoped for a better season, but heading into round 32, they find themselves sitting 10th. The good news for the team is that due to La Liga’s extra UCL spot, the 8th place in the league will also grant European football, and Sociedad is just 2 points off it. Imanol Alguacil’s men will hit the road hoping for a 3rd consecutive unbeaten match, but the truth is that Real Sociedad has experienced a fair bit of trouble on the road. Sociedad has accumulated just 18 of its 41 points from away fixtures. All of the team’s last 5 La Liga trips produced over 2.5 goals, with the stats pointing to La Real’s away fixtures seeing a lot more goals than their home ones.
Head-to-Head-Games
La Real has an advantage in the H2H with 3 wins from the last 5 encounters with Villarreal. The latter has 2 wins to their name. Two of the last 5 meetings between these two produced over 2.5 goals. Looking at games where Villarreal was the host, the number of games to produce over 2.5 goals climbs to 3 from the last 5.
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Villarreal CF | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 58 | WDLWW |
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | -5 | 43 | WLDLD |
Villarreal – Real Sociedad Betting Prediction
Both Villarreal and Real Sociedad are in the running to secure European football next season. For the Yellow Submarine, this could be the season in which they make their long-awaited return to the Champions League, while La Real is very close to securing a Conference League spot at the minimum, although they will surely be aiming higher.
Taking into consideration that a win is pivotal for both sides, the fact that H2H encounters tend to produce results with at least 3 goals fairly often, and that Real Sociedad’s last 5 away matches have all seen at least 3 goals, my pick here would be for over 2.5 goals.
Betting Tip: Over 2.5 Goals
Bookmaker: Stake
Odds: 1.79
Stake
Place your bet on Villarreal – Real Sociedad at Stake