With the teams kicking off their La Liga campaigns last week, it is time for them to return to the league action and put in their maximum effort again, as they vie with each other for three points this weekend. We at Get More Sports have prepared the previews for the matches: Real Sociedad vs Villareal, and Real Betis Vs Celta De Vigo so that our readers are updated with the latest team news before the match.
REAL SOCIEDAD vs. VILLAREAL
Three-way: 1: Real Sociedad +124; X: +260 Draw; 2: Villareal +280
Spread -0.5: Real Sociedad +110; Villareal -119
Total +2.5: Over +114; Under -120
REAL SOCIEDAD
The club is looking forward to another positive La Liga season under the manager Eusebio. Even though Sociedad wasn’t really rampant in attack or the sturdiest in defense in the last season, they still managed to edge out games as they finished 6th, just three points behind Villareal who were 5th. Sociedad scored 59 goals and conceded 53 in the previous La Liga campaign, and most of their wins came on the ability to edge through opponents. The fans will be hoping that the team doesn’t see a drop in their performance levels and continues to challenge for the European spots with their efficient playing style and a hard working attitude among the squad.
They have not been very active in the transfer market, especially in terms of arrivals. They have let go of the left back Yuri Berchiche who has joined PSG for 16 million Euros, and winger Carlos Vela, who has joined Los Angeles FC for 5 million. To bring in players in the squad, the transfer board of Sociedad has signed Real Madrid youngster Diego Llorente. The Spanish center back has joined the club in a deal worth 6 million. Joining him is Belgian youngster Adnan Januzaj, who has come from Manchester United where his reputation as one of the most talented youngsters in the world has dwindled. The Belgian will be hoping he is able to recover his form as he tries to live up to his 8.5 million Euros transfer value.
The preseason ‘campaign’ of Sociedad was far from ideal. They took part in 9 matches, out of which, they could garner only 2 wins. They drew four matches while losing three. During this period, they scored 11 goals, while conceding 8 goals. These numbers show that the club can still improve in both attack and defense, which will be vital for their La Liga ambitions. They still need to be sturdy at the back, as they managed to keep only three clean sheets during this 9 game run. In their first game of the season, they played out an entertaining match against Celta Vigo, as they managed to run out victorious with the score being 3:2.
VILLAREAL CF
The Yellow Submarines played much of their season in the La Liga last year competing against the weekend’s opponents Real Sociedad for a better finish in the European spots. In the end, Villareal managed to edge out Sociedad by 3 points. They had an average attack, as one could see with the statistic that they had scored 56 goals last year in the La Liga. However, the most impressive part of their squad was the defense, which was the second best in the league, after third placed Atletico. They conceded just 33 goals in 38 matches, led by Argentine defender Musacchio. The club must now ensure that they maintain their solidity after the departure of their influential Argentine Defender.
They have made some exciting signings in this transfer window. They have added highly rated Manchester City striker Enes Unal for a sum of 14 million Euros. Another 14 million were splashed on Sporting Centre back Ruben Semedo, who will be hoping to reduce the impact of Musacchio’s departure. They have also added Malaga youngster Pablo Fornals for 12 million Euros while landing Carlos Bacca on a season long loan from AC Milan, and making keeper Andres Fernandez’s loan move permanent for 2 million Euros.
The Spanish club had a mixed pre-season campaign. They played six club friendly matches, out of which, they were able to bag three wins, and suffered three defeats. During this duration, they yellow submarines scored 7 goals and conceded 6 goals. They managed to keep two clean sheets in these friendlies. Although these matches were more inclined towards getting the fitness levels back, the fans will be hoping that their defense is able to pick themselves up fast before the season, as they also lost their season opener against Levante by 1:0.
Villareal has many of their first team players out due to injuries. Keeper Sergio Asenjo will only be able to make his return to the first team after his recovery from ACL injury becomes complete towards the end of August. Winger Cheryshev and defender Bonera are both out due to Muscular problems. Wide players Roberto Soriano and Adrian Marin are both out with knee injuries. While midfield orchestrator Bruno Soriano will be out until October with a leg injury.
REAL SOCIEDAD vs. VILLAREAL- Match Prediction:
This match is set to be one of the exciting matches of this weekend, with both the teams looking to get a comprehensive win to kick start their season. Villareal lost their first match, and hence, will be looking for the three points, which is much easier said than done as they are missing key men in the likes of Bruno Soriano. And considering that this is a home match for Sociedad, I will predict a home win in this match with both sides scoring.
MY PICK: Real Sociedad to win (+124)
Additional Pick: Both teams to score YES (-106)
REAL BETIS vs. CELTA DE VIGO
Three-way 1: Real Betis +156; X: +244 Draw; 2: Celta De Vigo +211
Spread 0: Real Betis -125; Celta De Vigo +121
Total +2.5: Over +106; Under -114
REAL BETIS
Last season wasn’t a pleasant experience for the club, as they were stuck in the relegation battle for much of the season. Although they managed to grab some points as they saw a small upturn in results in performances, the fans will be aware that a lot of improvement is needed if their club is to have a season where they will stay away from relegation. As they finished ranked 15th in the final La Liga standings last year, Betis managed to score just 41 goals. With this extremely average attack, they also had a very poor defense, which conceded a disappointing 64 goals in 38 league matches.
Under the new manager Quique Setien, the club is hopeful of going in the right direction in the new La Liga campaign. Therefore, they have invested in a lot of players this transfer window to improve their squad. They have spent 7 million each on midfielders Victor Camarassa from Levante and Ryad Boudebouz from Montpellier. They have bought winger Cristian Tello from Barcelona for 4 million Euros, while spending a combined 10 million more on defender Zouhair Feddal from Alaves, Guardado from Eindhoven, Javi Garcia from Zenit and Sergio Leon from Osasuna.
Real Betis took part in a really topsy-turvy preseason. Out of the ten matches that took part in for their preseason preparations, they won just four, while drawing two, and losing four. The defense failed to cover itself in glory, as the team conceded 12 goals in these matches, keeping just two clean sheets in the process. The attacking performances weren’t too special either, as they could score only 9 goals in the 10 friendlies. This poor form carried onto the league, as they lost to a troubled but talented Barcelona squad by 2:0 at the Camp Nou.
Manager Setien will have to deal with a few injury concerns before the match this weekend. New signing Cristian Tello and Boudebouz are out with injuries sustained last weeks, as they are suffering from Muscle fiber injury and Knee injury respectively. Central midfielder Victor Camarasa is also a doubt for the match after he suffered a minor injury in training this week.
CELTA DE VIGO
Celta fans will be praying for a more consistent season this year after their ‘tale of two halves’ last season in the Spanish La Liga. They started the season with some really good performances, with the attackers settling into a good rhythm led by Iago Aaspas. However, as the season progressed, they lost their cohesion and had a lot of consecutive defeats, which brought them down to their eventual 14th placed finish. They scored a total of 53 goals in the La Liga last year while conceding a disappointing 69 goals, which was one of the main reasons for their fall to the bottom half.
They have added manager Juan Carlos Unzue for the new season, as he looks to bring in consistency and solidity to the team. Celta has signed Slovakian midfielder Stanislav Lobotka from Nordsjaelland for 5 million Euros, while also bringing in Spaniard Jozabed Sanchez from Fulham for 3.5 million Euros. In attack, they have added young Uruguayan striker Maximiliano Gomez, as they look to bring in option for the manager in case of an injury to Aaspas or Guidetti.
Celta Vigo had a comparatively poor preseason, although they played against good quality opposition for much of the friendly matches. They played 7 matches, out of which, two resulted in Victories, two in draws, and the other three were defeats. They were pretty impressive in attack, as they scored in all these matches, netting a total 13 times. However, their defense was a bit rusty, as they conceded 10 goals, keeping just two clean sheets.
The only injury concern is of forwarding John Guidetti, as the Swede is out with a collarbone fracture till September.
REAL BETIS vs. CELTA DE VIGO – Match Prediction:
Both the teams struggled to get a real sense of cohesion in the preseason, and both suffered defeats in their opening La Liga fixtures. However, looking at the squads of both the teams, I would say that Real Betis still hasn’t got the understanding levels between their new signings to the optimum level, and are suffering from injuries to key men. So, even though it is an away match for Celta, I feel that they will be able to edge out a win here. Therefore, my prediction will be an away win in this match.
MY PICK: Celta de Vigo to win (+211)
