On Saturday, 25 May, in the 38th round of the Spanish La Liga, Real Sociedad will host Atletico Madrid. The Basques will be aiming for revenge against the "Colchoneros" for the 2-1 loss in the first round, although both teams no longer have tournament motivations.
The match will take place in San Sebastian at the Reale Arena.
Having won their last two league games against Valencia at home (1-0) and Real Betis away last weekend (0:2), thanks to goals from Brais Mendez and Mikel Merino, Real Sociedad have guaranteed their spot in next season's Europa League. In this campaign, the Basques reached the Champions League Round of 16 but fell short against PSG.
From a sporting standpoint, Imanol Alguacil's men have had more than a respectable season, including a semi-final appearance in the Copa del Rey, though the fans probably hoped for a top-four finish in La Liga and Cup glory. The hosts cannot climb higher than sixth after Athletic Bilbao defeated Sevilla and secured the fifth spot. Interesting fact: Real Sociedad have accumulated exactly 30 points at home and away this campaign.
Atletico Madrid are guaranteed a top-four finish. At the end of April, the "Colchoneros" needed a win against the chasing Athletic Bilbao at home and, after three losses this season to the Basque club, Diego Simeone's men finally got the job done (3:1), creating a six-point cushion. In the Champions League, the capital club reached the quarter-finals, where they were ousted by Borussia Dortmund on aggregate.
Last weekend, Atletico "had a blast" in front of their home fans in a match against the crisis-hit Osasuna (1:4), thus ending their splendid four-game winning streak in La Liga – against Athletic (3:1), Mallorca (0:1), Celta Vigo (1:0), and Getafe (0:3). The setback last weekend was unexpected, as Atletico had lost just one of their previous 18 home games. However, away performances are much less successful: in 18 matches, they have gathered just 24 points (the sixth-best result in the division), scoring 26 goals and conceding 21.
Atletico won the first-round match at home (2:1). Moreover, Real Sociedad haven't beaten the "Colchoneros" in their last five encounters (3 losses, 2 draws).
In the final round of La Liga, both teams lack tournament motivation, but each has their own reason to win. Atletico suffered a heavy defeat against Osasuna last weekend and will seek to make amends, while the Basques want to end the campaign on a high note in front of their fans. All signs point to a draw at the Reale Arena.
In four of their last five head-to-head encounters, these teams exchanged goals. Both clubs have quality attacking players, so I'm expecting a high-scoring shootout here.
Real Sociedad will play with the support of their home crowd and will certainly not yield the initiative to the opponent, so I'm betting that the Basques will not lose on corners.
I do not anticipate overly rough play from either team in a match that holds no significant weight for them, so I'm betting on a total of under 4.5 bookings.
I'm betting on a 1:1 draw.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Barcelona | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13:3 | 12 | |
2 | Real Madrid | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7:2 | 8 | |
3 | Atl. Madrid | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6:2 | 8 | |
4 | Villarreal | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9:7 | 8 | |
5 | Girona | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7:4 | 7 | |
6 | Alaves | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5:3 | 7 | |
7 | Osasuna | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 5:7 | 7 | |
8 | Celta Vigo | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10:9 | 6 | |
9 | Leganes | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3:3 | 5 | |
10 | Mallorca | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2:2 | 5 | |
11 | Rayo Vallecano | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 4:5 | 4 | |
12 | Real Sociedad | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3:4 | 4 | |
13 | Ath Bilbao | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3:4 | 4 | |
14 | Espanyol | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2:3 | 4 | |
15 | Valladolid | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -9 | 1:10 | 4 | |
16 | Getafe | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 3 | |
17 | Betis | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 1:3 | 2 | |
18 | Las Palmas | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 4:7 | 2 | |
19 | Sevilla | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 3:6 | 2 | |
20 | Valencia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -4 | 3:7 | 1 | |
1 | Osasuna | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5:3 | 7 | |
2 | Barcelona | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9:1 | 6 | |
3 | Real Madrid | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:0 | 6 | |
4 | Celta Vigo | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:2 | 6 | |
5 | Atl. Madrid | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:0 | 4 | |
6 | Villarreal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6:5 | 4 | |
7 | Alaves | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 4 | |
8 | Ath Bilbao | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:2 | 4 | |
9 | Valladolid | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 4 | |
10 | Girona | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:0 | 3 | |
11 | Leganes | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2:2 | 3 | |
12 | Espanyol | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2:2 | 3 | |
13 | Mallorca | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 2 | |
14 | Getafe | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0:0 | 2 | |
15 | Las Palmas | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3:3 | 2 | |
16 | Betis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
17 | Valencia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
18 | Rayo Vallecano | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
19 | Real Sociedad | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:4 | 0 | |
20 | Sevilla | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
1 | Barcelona | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 6 | |
2 | Atl. Madrid | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:2 | 4 | |
3 | Villarreal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:2 | 4 | |
4 | Girona | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:4 | 4 | |
5 | Rayo Vallecano | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:3 | 4 | |
6 | Real Sociedad | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 4 | |
7 | Alaves | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3:3 | 3 | |
8 | Mallorca | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:1 | 3 | |
9 | Real Madrid | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2:2 | 2 | |
10 | Leganes | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 2 | |
11 | Sevilla | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2:2 | 2 | |
12 | Espanyol | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0:1 | 1 | |
13 | Getafe | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
14 | Betis | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 1 | |
15 | Osasuna | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:4 | 0 | |
16 | Celta Vigo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5:7 | 0 | |
17 | Ath Bilbao | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
18 | Valladolid | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0:10 | 0 | |
19 | Las Palmas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
20 | Valencia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 |
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