Real Sociedad vs Villarreal Prediction - Will Real Sociedad Still Be Able To Reach Sevilla At The Fifth Place Of Table?

Next Sunday, Real Sociedad will take on Villarreal at Anoeta for the last round of Liga BBVA on a match where, in case of win, the Txuri-urdin might still reach Sevilla at the fifth place of the table, that is if the Andalusia side slips up at home against Elche.

After grabbing a draw at San Mamés last weekend against their biggest rivals (Athletic Bilbao), Real Sociedad will measure forces with a motivated Villarreal side, which trashed Rayo Vallecano at El Madrigal last Sunday.

The team led by Jagoba Arrasate has already secured their presence at the UEFA Europa League next season but they are fully focused on assaulting Sevilla’s fifth place. Real Sociedad’s defender Carlos Martínez and their Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo claimed this week that the team will fight and believe until the very last moment that it is still possible to rob the Andalusia team of the fifth place.

For the match against the Yellow Submarine, Real Sociedad’s head coach, Jagoba Arrasate, will probably still not be able to count on the Spanish defender José Ángel, who is not yet fully recovered from his recent injury.

As for Villarreal, the match at Anoeta next Sunday could help them, if they manage to win, to change places with Real Sociedad at the league table. The Yellow Submarine have made a fantastic campaign after having only returned to the Spanish football top tier this season and they will certainly want to prove all their quality on last match, especially against their direct opponents.

In a recent interview, the team’s captain, Bruno Soriano, highlighted the fact that his team granted a place at the UEFA Europa League next term just one season after returning from Liga Adelante.

For the match at San Sebastian, Villarreal’s manager, Marcelino Toral, will probably still not be able to rely on the contribution of the Spanish defenders José Dorado and Pablo Iniguez and on the French forward Jérémy Perbet, all of them sidelined due to injury.

When both sides met at El Madrigal back in January, the Yellow Submarine severely hammered an uninspired Real Sociedad 5-1, thanks to two goals from Giovani dos Santos and Uche and one from Moi Gómez. Real Sociedad are favourites for next Sunday’s match mainly due to their good home form this season and to Villarreal’s inconsistent performances away from El Madrigal.

Real Sociedad

Stats: W-16 L-11 D-10

Recent Form - DWWDD

Villarreal

Stats: W-16 L-13 D-8

Recent Form - WLLDW

Possible Line-ups

Real Sociedad (4-2-3-1) - Bravo - C. Martínez - Zaldúa - La Bella - J. Ángel - Zurutuza - R. Pardo - Griezmann - X. Prieto - Vela - Agirretxe

Villarreal (4-4-2 Diamond) – J.Carlos - Mario - Musacchio - Pantic - Costa - Pina - Bruno - Trigueros - Cani - Uche - Giovani Dos Santos

Prediction

Real Sociedad 2 Villarreal 1