Real Sociedad will be looking to pick up their first win of the season as they host Celta Vigo in La Liga. Celta lost 2-0 to Osasuna in their first game of the new season. The home team began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Girona.
Preview (Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo)
Real Sociedad finished fourth in Spain’s premier division last season after amassing 71 points from 38 games. It was the club’s best season since 2013, and it helped the team qualify for the Champions League. The White and Blues will be expected to contend for the top four once more this season. They have signed Andre Silva on loan from RB Leipzig and Hamari Traore on a free transfer from Rennes. The Basque team still has time to add players to their roster. After being held to a 1-1 draw in their season-opening encounter against Girona, the team appeared to need a boost.
In the fifth minute of the encounter on Saturday, Takefusa Kubo gave Real Sociedad the lead. Girona was able to tie the score late in the game thanks to Artem Dovbyk. In contrast, Celta began their season on Sunday with a 2-0 home loss to Osasuna. Ruben Garcia opened the scoring in the 24th minute of the game. Moi Gomez added a second goal in the 74th. Rafael Benitez’s tenure as manager got off to a terrible start. The Celta Vigo team now faces a challenging journey to Real Sociedad.
Celta placed 13th in Spain’s top division last season. They have now participated in each of the last 12 La Liga seasons. It hasn’t been an easy road; they’ve placed 17th three times during that time. They have signed Carl Starfelt, Carlos Dotor, Jonathan Bamba, and Manu Sanchez during the summer transfer window. The Sky Blues also converted Carles Perez’s loan move into a permanent agreement. At this point in the season, Celta will be afraid of losing another match. Especially since two of their following four games are against Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Team News
Aritz Elustondo, Martin Merquelanz, and newly acquired Andre Silva will all be out on Saturday for Real Sociedad because of injuries. Umar Sadiq has returned from a long-term injury, but at this point, he is not likely to be considered for a start, thus Carlos Fernandez will once more play through the middle. Benat Turrientes will hope to have performed well enough to keep his starting position in the center of midfield while Mikel Oyarzabal and Kubo will also play in the last third of the game.
Agustin Marchesin, the Sky Blues goalkeeper, will also miss the game owing to a chronic knee problem, but other than that, they are in good form. Although Sanchez, who came off the bench against Osasuna, could start at left-back, Benitez is unlikely to make any drastic changes to his starting lineup. It may instead be the same starting lineup that played from the opening whistle the last time around. Real Sociedad, who wasn’t at their best against Girona last time out, will have a difficult time in this game thanks to Celta. However, the Basque team has so much talent on the field that we anticipate them to reach all three points.
Real Sociedad 2 – 1 Celta Vigo
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