Real Sociedad v Barcelona Betting Tips
Barcelona have been enjoying a spate of wins in recent months. Since losing 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, there have been nine successive victories. Not all of them have been convincing such as the 2-0 success against Espanyol where the Catalan side survived a host of chances against them before late goals from Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski enabled them to land the points.
Quite simply, Barca generally find a way to win. It explains why they have a return of forty-nine points from their nineteen matches played. Given that the maximum available is fifty-seven, it's only eight away from perfection. Hansi Flick's side have been foot perfect at the Nou Camp although there has been the odd slip-up on their travels.
From ten away games played, seven have resulted in a success, with a draw and two defeats also happening. Back in August, there was a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano and that came before an early October reverse at Sevilla. That 4-1 defeat was their heaviest domestic loss of the campaign, with the other defeat being a Clasico reverse later that month.
Barca return to La Liga action after a Supercopa success last weekend, beating Real Madrid 3-2 and they are likely to have the entire first team rested for their midweek Copa Del Rey encounter, with Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski among the players likely to be rested for the challenge ahead.
As for Real Sociedad, they are predictably big outsiders to get the job done. Pellegrino Matarazzo's team have won three, drawn two and lost four of their home games, although recent form has been solid. They claimed a 1-1 draw away to Levante before the same scoreline at home to Atletico Madrid.
There was then a 2-1 success away to Getafe last Friday to stretch their unbeaten run to four matches, with goals from Brais Mendez and Jon Aramburu giving them a deserved victory. This is an altogether different kind of test and they'll want to give a good account of themselves before a more winnable home clash against Celta Vigo.
Goals Under/Over
Over 2.5 Goals generally trades at a short price when Barcelona are in action and this game is no exception. Odds of 1.44 implies a 70% chance that there will be three or more goals, with twenty-seven goals being scored across nine Sociedad home matches. There might be a degree of caution deployed by a team facing opponents who have run in forty goals across ten away visits.
The average of four per away game might lead some punters to consider Over 3.5 Goals instead and that is trading at odds-against. However, Barcelona sometimes fail to catch fire and a recent 2-0 victory at Espanyol was only settled at the end with two late goals in a match where the Catalan side did not play well.
Previously to this, Barca won 2-0 at Villarreal so perhaps there is a blueprint developing which sees the league leaders keep things defensively tighter on the road before finding a way through.
BTTS
A 66% chance of both teams finding the net according to the bookies, although we would rather be backing BTTS No at the prices. After all, both Villarreal and Espanyol failed to find the net in recent home matches against Barcelona. Similarly, Athletic Bilbao drew a blank in a one-sided Super Cup semi-final and Hansi Flick's side are making a habit of winning games to nil right now.
Although Real Sociedad offer a lively goal threat, they might be restricted in terms of possession and chances created. On the flip side, they have been involved in five successive matches where both teams found the net. Before this was a 1-0 defeat at Alaves although you have to go back to 5 October to find the last time they drew a blank at home when losing 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano.
It could well be that they throw caution to the wind against high-flying opponents and the reverse fixture saw the team lose 2-1 at the Nou Camp, so there's definitely scope for them finding the net. If you are going for a Barcelona victory, you can decide whether that will be accompanied by any Real Sociedad goals or not in order to extract a bigger price.
First Goalscorer
Raphinha was at the double when Barcelona took down Real Madrid in the Supercopa final and the Brazilian could be a good option here. The former Leeds player also registered a brace against Athletic Bilbao in the semi-final clash and now has eight goals in his past seven clashes for the Catalan side. He bagged a brace against Osasuna on 13 December and has definitely found his scoring touch this winter.
Robert Lewandowski also scored a sweet strike in the final against Real Madrid and the Pole is almost a guaranteed source of goals. There have been back to back strikes in the past two matches, with Dani Olmo also worth considering in a game where Barcelona are likely to score goals. Lamine Yamal needs one more to make it double figures for the season but is often the chance creator instead.
Brais Mendez opened the scoring for Sociedad against Getafe and is likely to lead the line here, with Jon Aramburu breaking his duck in that game. Perhaps a more reliable scoring option is Goncalo Guedes who has four since 1 November and the Portuguese midfielder has always enjoyed a solid scoring record wherever he has played.