Real Sociedad Vs Barcelona preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Barcelona will look to extend their lead at the top of Laliga when they travel to San Sebastián to face Real Sociedad at Reale Arena on Sunday.

Barcelona’s quest for a 28th Laliga title is well on track as the Blaugrana have begun the season in rapid form, sitting comfortably on top of the league table on 33 points.

Fast-paced football, free-scoring, rapid counter-attacking, a daredevil defensive high line, and bravery from the youngest talents can be used to describe this Hansi Flick-led Barcelona side.

With eleven wins this season, including a remarkable 4-0 victory over perennial rivals Real Madrid, the Blaugrana sit nine points clear of the defending champions and appear well on course — barring any late slip-ups — for a potential Laliga title.

They seem a well-oiled machine in attack, with veteran centre-forward Robert Lewandowski, the reinvented Brazilian forward Raphinha, and 2024 Kopa Trophy winner Lamine Yamal delivering an impressive 41 goal contributions.

It was in 1950, when former UK Prime Minister Clement Attlee was serving the penultimate year of his tenure, that Ferdinand Daučík’s Barcelona side netted an impressive 54 goals in just 16 games. Fast forward to 2024, and Barcelona have shattered their 74-year-old record, scoring 55 goals within just the first three months of the season.

The Catalan giants enter this match riding a seven-game winning streak, highlighted by a 5-2 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Wednesday and a 3-1 triumph over Catalan rivals Espanyol in their last La Liga fixture.

They’ll now be looking to replicate their winning streak and goalscoring prowess when they face a Sociedad side that have grown hot and cold this season without really finding consistency.

The San Sebastián based club are renowned for its strong start to the season aided by a high-intensity pressing style orchestrated by head coach, Imanol Alguacil.

However, the opposite has been the case this season as the White and Blues have lost five of their opening ten matches across all competitions. In Laliga, they’ve won two and lost three of their opening seven matches including a surprise 2-1 loss to Rayo Vallecano at home.

Generally this season, Sociedad have struggled to hit their stride. With a record of four wins, three draws, and five losses from 12 games, they currently sit in 11th position with 15 points.

Despite being at the bottom half of the table, Alguacil’s team sits six points behind fourth-placed Villarreal and only four points above 15th-placed Leganes, which implies that victory over Barcelona could see them leap further the table and a loss could see them drop down the pecking order making the match a highly consequential game for the.

Sociedad have shown defensive solidity in La Liga this season, conceding only 10 goals—tied for the third-best record in the league. However, their attack has struggled, managing just 10 goals, ranking them among the lowest-scoring teams in the league.

Remarkably, the White and Blues hold the worst home record in La Liga, with only four points from six games and they now face a challenging task against a Barcelona side that holds the best away record in Laliga this season.

Real Sociedad Vs Barcelona match details

• Date: Sunday, 10th November, 2024
• Location: San Sebastián, Spain
• Venue: Reale Arena
• Kick-off time: 08:00 PM GMT, 03:00 PM ET, 9.00 PM CET
• Referee: Guillermo Cuadra Fernández
• Assistant referees: Guadalupe Porras, Alejandro Estévez
• Fourth official: Pardeiro Puente
• VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande
• Tickets: Fans can buy Barcelona tickets from the club website or through a reseller if they want to attend the game.

Match stats and head-to-head

• These two sides have clashed 194 times in history. Barcelona lead the head-to-head record with 115 wins while Sociedad have only managed 37 wins and 42 of these fixtures have ended in a draw.

• In Laliga, Barcelona still hold the superior head-to-head with 89 wins in 154 matches while Sociedad have only managed a meagre 33 wins and 32 games have ended in a draw.

• Sociedad have not defeated Barcelona at home since the 1-0 win in September 2016.

• The Blaugrana have won 10 of their last 11 matches against the White and Blues.

• In their 194 matches against Sociedad, Barcelona have netted a sky-high 401 goals conceding only 196.

• The Blaugrana are on a four-match winning streak away to Sociedad and have not dropped points when playing at the Reale Arena since the 1-1 draw in 2021.

• With 40 goals this campaign, Barcelona have scored at least 19 more goals than any other side in Laliga since the beginning of the season.

• With only 10 conceded goals, Sociedad hold the record for the third-best defensive record in the League this season.

• Alguacil’s side holds the worst home record this season, amassing only four points in six matches.

• Flick could become the third head coach of Barcelona to lead his team to a streak of scoring at least three goals in eight consecutive matches after Pep Guardiola in 2012 and Juan José Nogués in 1943.

Team news

Sociedad could be without several first-team players for this clash. At the time of writing, Nayef Aguerd, Ander Barrenetxea, Benat Turrientes, Pablo Marin, Hamari Traore, and Arsen Zakharyan are facing different injury concerns and their availability for this match remains unconfirmed.

Head coach, Imanol Alguacil is expected to make changes from the Europa League match against Viktoria Plzen, with Brais Mendez and Aritz Elustondo potentially being included in the starting lineup.

For Barcelona, Gavi’s playing time is being carefully monitored after his long layoff with a knee injury, so he’s likely to make another substitute appearance in this match.

At the time of writing, recent reports from Spanish media indicate that centre-back, Pau Cubarsi – who suffered a facial injury against Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League, is expected to be in the squad to make the trip to Saint Sebastián on Sunday.

The 17-year-old is expected to wear a specially designed-mask and is also in contention for a starting berth in Flick’s backline.

If Cubarsi is fit to play, Barcelona’s list of absentees for this weekend’s La Liga fixture will include Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo, Ferran Torres, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, and goalkeeper, Marc-Andre ter Stegen – who is ruled out for the majority of the season.

Inaki Pena is expected to retain his place in goal ahead of Wojciech Szczęsny, who joined the club as an emergency replacement for first-choice goalkeeper Ter Stegen.

Predicted starting lineup

Sociedad predicted starting lineup

Remiro; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Elustondo, J Lopez; Mendez, Zubimendi, Sucic; Kubo, Oyarzabal, Gomez.

Barcelona predicted starting lineup

Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Prediction

This fixture has been dominated by Barcelona in recent years and given Sociedad’s current form, the trend could continue this Sunday with the Catalan side looking to make it five wins in a row against the White and Blues.

However, Alguacil’s side has showcased defensive solidity this season and will be prepared to thwart Flick’s rampaging side.

Their attacking threat could however be their Achilles heel as Barcelona are certain of scoring if they’re afforded the time to build up possession.

We’re predicting a 2-0 win for Barcelona.