Next Saturday, 17th of January 2015, the inconsistent Real Sociedad will entertain the not less inconsistent Rayo Vallecano at the emblematic Anoeta for round 19 of the Spanish Liga BBVA, on a match of vital significance for both teams that remain dangerously close from the relegation zone.

The surprising and well deserved home win over Barcelona wasn’t enough to motivate Real Sociedad, as they haven’t been able to win any single match after that. After being defeated at El Madrigal by a strong Villarreal for a Copa del Rey match, Real Sociedad failed again to claim the three points on their visit to Granada last Sunday. The Andalusia team, who is currently at the bottom of La Liga table, managed to impose a 1-1 draw to David Moyes’ boys. The Basque team opened the score still during the first-half, when the flamboyant Mexican forward Carlos Vela scored from the penalty spot but allowed Granada to clinch the equalizer on the 79’ minute thanks to a Fran Rico’s goal, also from the 12 yards spot.

The former Manchester United’s manager is not having an easy life at Real Sociedad, as he is yet to manage to bring the desired peace of mind and consistency the team needs to escape the second half of the table.

Next weekend’s match against Rayo will certainly be far from easy but the Basque team needs to pull rank and display a similar performance to the one they presented against, for example, Barcelona, Atlético and Real Madrid, if they want to take something positive from that complicated clash. For that particular match, David Moyes will probably still not be able to rely on the services of Zaldua and Zurutuza, who remain sidelined due to injury.

As for Rayo, things are going from bad to worse to the team based on the outskirts of Madrid. With just one win on the last seven matches, Rayo are currently on the 11th place of the table with four points more than Levante, who occupy the first place below the relegation line.

Last Monday, Rayo were defeated 1-0 at home by a rejuvenated Cordoba, thanks to an own goal from the Senegalese defender Abdoulaye Ba still during the first-half.

Given both teams’ recent performances, one can point out Real Sociedad as favourites for the upcoming match, although it will certainly be a very close clash between two very similar sides.

Real Sociedad

Stats: W-2 L-1 D-2

Recent Form - DLWDW

Rayo Vallecano

Stats: W-1 L-3 D-1

Recent Form - LWLDL

Possible Line-ups

Real Sociedad (4-4-1-1) - Rulli - C. Martínez - Ansotegui - I. Martínez - La Bella - Granero - Canales - Bergara - Castro - Prieto - Vela

Rayo Vallecano (3-1-4-2) - Toño - Tito - Quini - Abdoulaye Ba - Sanchez - Baena - Trashorras - Kakuta - Licá - Bueno - Leo Baptistão

Prediction

Real Sociedad 1 Rayo Vallecano 0