With the Spanish La Liga action returning to us this weekend, we will see Betis visit Real Sociedad on Sunday hoping to get a good result, while Barcelona will be looking to continue their impeccable form
REAL SOCIEDAD vs. BETIS
Three-way: 1: Real Sociedad +102; X: +290 Draw; 2: Betis +309
Spread -0.5: Real Sociedad -102; Betis -104
Total +3: Over +114; Under -120
REAL SOCIEDAD
After an impressive top seven finish in the La Liga, Real Sociedad looked determined to follow it up with another strong showing in the league. However, after a strong start, they quickly and horribly faded away. The defense has looked disjointed of late, and even though they are regularly finding the net, their goals haven’t come in enough quantity. Currently sitting in 8th position in the La Liga table with 9 points, Sociedad soon need to overcome their drop of form to ensure they again push for a European spot in the league.
After four consecutive wins since the start of the season in all competitions, Sociedad strangely went on a four-match losing run, which is still continuing with a defeat in the Europa league. During their last six games, they have scored 13 goals, although 8 of those have come in the first two matches, which were wins. On to the defensive side now: they have conceded 14 goals in the same duration while keeping just one clean sheet.
Their last match was a 3:1 away defeat in Russia as they lost to Zenit in the Europa League. Even though they did go into the Europa league with big aspirations, it is clear that they will have to work hard to progress further in this competition. Before this match, they lost against Valencia at home by the score of 2:3. Even though they showed good attacking play to score two goals, the manner of their defeat was very frustrating for the fans.
Surprisingly, defender Diego Llorente has been leading the charts for the club’s goals scored this season, with four to his name in just five appearances. Closely following him is winger Juanmi, who has scored three goals, while Willian Jose, Oyarzabal and Illaramendi have all scored a couple of goals each.
Right back Carlos Martinez continues to be a long-term absentee with his ruptured Cruciate Ligament, while centre-back Inigo Martinez won’t be available for the match due to muscular problems. Young midfielder Igor Zubelida will also miss this match will indirect card suspension.
BETIS
After a heavy struggle to stay up in the La Liga towards the end of last season, Betis has shown tremendous character to have a positive start to their league campaign this year, as they recovered from a opening day loss against Barcelona to grab four wins and climb to fifth position in the league. Most of their wins have been narrow, hard-earned victories, which highlights the squad willingness to work hard and preserve narrow leads or go for that one goal to win the match.
Their record over the last six games has been 4-0-2, which is very impressive considering the fact that many people didn’t even give them a chance of surviving in the La Liga. During this six-game run, they have breached the opposition net 10 times, while conceding 7 goals. It is easy to see that there is still room for improvement, although this is a very good start.
Their last away game was against Real Madrid, where they silenced the Bernabeu with a late, late winner to snatch all the three points, as the match ended 1:0. This match was followed by a visit by Levante, who were thrashed 4:0 by the home side. This result sent a real statement of intent that if provided with the chances, Betis will not hesitate one bit to exploit them.
Strikers Sergio Leon and Antonio Sanabria have both proven to be very effective for the team, as they both have scored three goals each in five appearances for each of them. Moreover, Segio Leon also has an assist to his name. Winger Joaquin is also doing his bit as he has chipped in with two goals and an assist.
Playmakers Juan Narvaez and Ryad Boudebouz will be missing this match with Malleolar injury and flu respectively, while left-back Alin Tosca injured his hand at the start of September, and will hence miss the match. Midfield general Victor Camarasa will also be absent from the clash as he recovers from muscular injuries he suffered a week ago.
REAL SOCIEDAD vs. BETIS – Match Prediction
Sociedad started their La Liga season very well, but suddenly, got in a rut and are seemingly finding it difficult to come out of it. On the other side, Betis has made a very impressive start to the season as they look to continue on this path and push for a top half spot. But with the home crowd behind Sociedad, they will be extra motivated to win this one. Therefore, my prediction will be a draw for this match.
MY PICK: DRAW (+290)
BARCELONA vs. LAS PALMAS
Three-way: 1: Barcelona -556; X: +1500 Draw; 2: Las Palmas +4300
Spread -3.5: Barcelona +133; Las Palmas -137
Total +4.5: Over -104; Under -102
BARCELONA
Barcelona has been absolutely ruthless this year. To bring this statement into perspective, Barcelona hasn’t lost any competitive games except the Spanish Super Cup at the start of the season this year. They are on an 8 match winning run in all competitions. And the Catalan Juggernaut shows no sign of slowing down, as Lionel Messi has been tearing down defenses on his own.
As already mentioned, they have won all of their matches since the start of the La Liga campaign. Now, if we just take the last six matches, they have scored a mammoth total of 19 goals, while conceding just 2 goals, keeping clean sheets in four matches. The fact that Suarez has still not been back to form will scare defenses even more.
Their last match was a bit of struggle, to be honest. Yes, they did win the Champions League match at Sporting CP, but the Portuguese team made it very hard for the Catalans on the night, as the hosts lost 0:1. Before this match, the thrashed Girona 3:0, in what was a routine victory, where surprisingly, Leo Messi was kept quiet by the on-loan Manchester City right-back Maffeo.
Their Argentine Talisman has scored an astonishing 12 goals already this season in all competitions, while midfielders Denis Suarez and Paulinho, along with Luis Suarez, have also chipped in with two goals each.
In terms of medical reports, there are three injury concerns. Club record signing Ousmanne Demble ruptured his thigh in mid-September, and hence will remain out until December at the very least. Midfielder Rafinha and Thomas Vermaelen continue their recovery from muscular injuries and hence won’t play this weekend.
LAS PALMAS
It looks like Las Palmas will again have a tough season ahead of them if we are to judge them by their start to the La Liga campaign. They have won just two matches out of six, although it must be noted they have faced four of the supposed top seven sides already. Nevertheless, it is absolutely important for the manager to find a solution to the poor results and produce an upturn in performances.
As written earlier, they have won just two matches out of all the La Liga matches played so far in this campaign. Their record has been 2-0-4, as their only wins came against Malaga and Bilbao. In this period, they have scored five goals, while conceding 10 times. Apart from improving the attack to score more goals and fashion more chances, the defense is in need of a dire organization to make sure that they don’t let in easy goals.
Both of their last two games have been frustrating defeats. The first of these was a visit to Sevilla, where Las Palmas may have felt that they could have got something from the game had they been more precise and efficient in their attacking play, as the match ended 1:0. Following this match, they welcomed home Leganes, who put in a really good performance against a toothless Las Palmas side to win 0:2.
Former Chelsea striker Loic Remy has been doing his bit, as the Frenchman has already scored two goals in two appearances. Apart from him, summer signing Jonathon Calleri also started the season well, as he now has two goals to his name. Left-back Dani Castellano has two assists to his name from the fullback position.
Wideman Castellano and Vitolo will both be missing this fixture due to hamstring injuries, although they might still be reassessed. Inform striker Loic Remy is also a doubt for this fixture as he has a minor wound. Young midfielders Halilovic and Sergi Samper are both out until October at the very least, as they recover from a Malleolar injury and muscle fiber injury respectively.
BARCELONA vs. LAS PALMAS – Match Prediction
No matter what form Las Palmas would have been in, it is absolutely difficult to envisage any team being able to stop this Barcelona Juggernaut except a few in this league. With Leo Messi up to his usual brilliance, Las Palmas can only hope that luck is with them for the match. Although a comfortable Barcelona win is expected, I think that the total goal count won’t exceed 4 goals, so I am going with the under in this one.
MY PICK: Under 4.5 goals (-102)
