On Monday, May 13th, within the framework of the 35th round of the Spanish Primera, Barcelona will play against Real Sociedad at home. The Catalans were beaten 4:2 by Girona last weekend, while Real Sociedad secured their hopes for a top six spot by defeating Las Palmas 2:0.
Barcelona experienced another disappointment last weekend. Following the fiasco in the Champions League quarter-finals against PSG (1:4 in the second leg) and the El Clasico (3:2 at Bernabeu), the Blaugrana lost a second Catalan derby this season to their direct competitors for silver medals in La Liga: 4:2 to Girona. Leading the score 1:2 in the second half, the Catalans were hurt by Porto, who scored twice and provided an assist at the end. Thus, in 9 minutes, Xavi's wards found themselves playing catch up (2:2 on the 65th minute, 4:2 on the 74th).
Having slipped to third place in the league table, the hosts have lost three out of the last four matches across all competitions. Champions League qualification is already ensured, so in the final rounds of the national championship, Barca only need to catch up Girona, who sit only two points ahead. It should be noted that this season, the Blaugrana have lost three times at their temporary home soil in La Liga, which is more than away (two defeats).
Real Sociedad is currently 6th in the league table, and last weekend managed to end a troublesome run of three games without a win in the championship by claiming a 2:0 victory over Las Palmas. The unsuccessful streak included two draws – against the bottom-placed Almeria (2:2) and Getafe away (1:1), as well as a entirely expected defeat against the current champions and finalists of the Champions League - Real Madrid (2:0).
The Basques won't take part in the Champions League next season, but they have every chance to make it to the group stage of the Europa League as the visitors are two points ahead of the following Real Betis. However, a tough finish awaits the team: in the three final rounds, the Basques will face Valencia, Cucumbers, and Atletico Madrid. It's important to note that Real Sociedad is fourth in the league in terms of points gained away: 27 in 17 matches outside their own walls.
Last season, the White and Blue defeated Barcelona at Camp Nou 1:2, and in the first round match of the current campaign they suffered a 0:1 defeat .
Barcelona is the clear favourite of the meeting, especially at home, regardless of the tournament situation. If successful, the Blaugrana will again bypass Girona, however, the hosts will have to work hard on Monday: Sociedad overcame Camp Nou last year and is motivated by the battle for a finish in the top six. However, the guests' personnel losses are too great, and so I'm backing a victory for the Catalan giants.
Barca has scored 38 goals in 17 home matches this season and can count on all their attacking leaders, so we confidently set individual total of hosts over 1.5 goals.
Barca is likely to play on the front foot, while the Basques will rely solely on counter-attacks. I'm betting on a Catalans' victory with an Asian handicap of -1.5 corners.
In the last two head-to-head meetings, these teams have collected 14 yellow cards collectively, so I'm betting on total yellow cards over 4.5.
I will bet on a exact score of 3:1 in favor of Barcelona.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Barcelona | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 40:11 | 33 | |
2 | Real Madrid | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 21:11 | 24 | |
3 | Atl. Madrid | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 18:7 | 23 | |
4 | Villarreal | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 20:19 | 21 | |
5 | Osasuna | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 17:16 | 21 | |
6 | Ath Bilbao | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 18:12 | 19 | |
7 | Betis | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 12:10 | 19 | |
8 | Mallorca | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10:9 | 18 | |
9 | Rayo Vallecano | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 13:13 | 16 | |
10 | Celta Vigo | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | -2 | 18:20 | 16 | |
11 | Real Sociedad | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 10:10 | 15 | |
12 | Girona | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 15:17 | 15 | |
13 | Sevilla | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | -5 | 12:17 | 15 | |
14 | Alaves | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | -5 | 14:19 | 13 | |
15 | Las Palmas | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -6 | 16:22 | 12 | |
16 | Leganes | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | -4 | 12:16 | 11 | |
17 | Getafe | 12 | 1 | 7 | 4 | -2 | 8:10 | 10 | |
18 | Espanyol | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | -11 | 11:22 | 10 | |
19 | Valladolid | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -15 | 9:24 | 8 | |
20 | Valencia | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -9 | 8:17 | 7 | |
1 | Osasuna | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13:8 | 16 | |
2 | Barcelona | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18:3 | 15 | |
3 | Real Madrid | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14:7 | 15 | |
4 | Atl. Madrid | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12:2 | 14 | |
5 | Betis | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8:4 | 13 | |
6 | Celta Vigo | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11:7 | 13 | |
7 | Ath Bilbao | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11:6 | 12 | |
8 | Girona | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11:9 | 10 | |
9 | Alaves | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7:7 | 10 | |
10 | Mallorca | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4:3 | 9 | |
11 | Sevilla | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5:7 | 9 | |
12 | Espanyol | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8:9 | 9 | |
13 | Villarreal | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11:12 | 8 | |
14 | Rayo Vallecano | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8:8 | 8 | |
15 | Getafe | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5:3 | 8 | |
16 | Leganes | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5:4 | 7 | |
17 | Las Palmas | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7:8 | 6 | |
18 | Valladolid | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4:6 | 5 | |
19 | Valencia | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6:6 | 5 | |
20 | Real Sociedad | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6:9 | 4 | |
1 | Barcelona | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22:8 | 18 | |
2 | Villarreal | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9:7 | 13 | |
3 | Real Sociedad | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4:1 | 11 | |
4 | Real Madrid | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7:4 | 9 | |
5 | Atl. Madrid | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6:5 | 9 | |
6 | Mallorca | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6:6 | 9 | |
7 | Rayo Vallecano | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5:5 | 8 | |
8 | Ath Bilbao | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7:6 | 7 | |
9 | Betis | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4:6 | 6 | |
10 | Sevilla | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7:10 | 6 | |
11 | Las Palmas | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9:14 | 6 | |
12 | Osasuna | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4:8 | 5 | |
13 | Girona | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4:8 | 5 | |
14 | Leganes | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7:12 | 4 | |
15 | Celta Vigo | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7:13 | 3 | |
16 | Alaves | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7:12 | 3 | |
17 | Valladolid | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5:18 | 3 | |
18 | Getafe | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3:7 | 2 | |
19 | Valencia | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2:11 | 2 | |
20 | Espanyol | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3:13 | 1 |
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