Turf chess in the Basque derby?
With Real Sociedad against Athletic Bilbao, the “Basque Derby” in La Liga is on! It first took place in 1909 as part of the Copa del Rey; at that time “Reala” prevailed and subsequently won its first club title in the competition. At league level, there have been 148 duels so far and with 59 wins, the visitors are slightly ahead (59-38-51).
However, the home side are currently ahead of the Lions in the standings and even occupy first place in the table, although the two pursuers Real Madrid and Sevilla have played one game less. The hosts have lost just one of their eleven league games, and that defeat came in the season opener, giving them a run of ten unbeaten games!
For the match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, the prediction includes a maximum of two goals by the final whistle!
Real Sociedad – Statistics & current form
Sociedad are currently without their top striker Mikel Oyarzabal. The 24-year-old is out due to injury. Fortunately for the Basques, meanwhile, Swede Alexander Isak has returned to form.
After a poor start to the season, Isak recently regained confidence during the international break by scoring in his national team’s games against Kosovo and Greece. Isak has subsequently improved in league and Europa League action, with the 22-year-old having scored in each of the last three competitive games!
New goal by Isak?
With Oyarzabal out and Isak’s form on the rise, betting odds on the Scandinavian’s next goal in Real Sociedad’s match against Athletic Bilbao are of added interest. The prediction is supported by the lack of goals from his strike partner Portu, who has yet to score this season.
“Reala” can also rely on home advantage in the upcoming match: None of the five home matches has been lost and only one has not been won. Although the strength of the opposition has been limited so far, with the exception of the home match against Sevilla, the Basques’ enormous defensive strength is particularly noteworthy.
Once again no goal conceded for Sociedad?
All five home games have ended with a clean sheet! Given that, the match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao has just as much value in the odds for another home game without conceding a goal. At the same time, however, the offensive has room for improvement. Only four goals were scored in the games in front of the home crowd.
Predicted line-up of Real Sociedad:
Remiro – Gorosabel – Elustondo – Munoz – Le Normand – Guevara – Merino – Sörloth – Silva – Portu – Isak
Last matches played by Real Sociedad:
LaLiga
10/28 2021 – Celta Vigo 0 – 2 San Sebastian
10/24 2021 – Atletico Madrid 2 – 2 San Sebastian
Europa League Grp. B
10/21 2021 – Sturm Graz 0 – 1 San Sebastian
LaLiga
10/16 2021 – San Sebastian 1 – 0 Mallorca
10/03 2021 – Getafe 1 – 1 San Sebastian
Athletic Bilbao – Statistics & current form
The Lions boast the best defence in La Liga: After ten rounds of matches, they have only conceded six goals. Furthermore, they can counter Sociedad’s home bonus with their away strength. They have not lost any of their five away games this season. Even more so than their upcoming opponents, however, their attack is in need of improvement.
They have only managed an average of one goal per game so far – the lowest value among the best eleven teams in La Liga. Only five players have scored so far, and only Inaki Williams has scored more than twice for the Leones.
Berenguer with a marked lack of goals
Alex Berenguer, who was the top scorer for the country’s eight-time champions last season, is among those completely out of form. This season, however, the 26-year-old Spaniard is still waiting for his first goal.
In the dress rehearsal for the derby, the Rojiblancos also scored a 1-1 draw at Espanyol Barcelona last Tuesday. Thanks to the result, the tenth-placed team of the past season has been unbeaten for four rounds of matches.
Predicted line-up of Athletic Bilbao:
Simon – Vivian – Lekue – Martinez – Balenziaga – Garcia – Vencedor – Muniam – Garcia – Williams -Serrano
Last matches played by Athletic Bilbao:
LaLiga
10/26 2021 – Espanyol 1 – 1 Athletic Bilbao
10/23 2021 – Athletic Bilbao 2 – 1 FC Villarreal
10/01 2021 – Athletic Bilbao 1 – 0 Deportivo Alaves
09/25 2021 – Valencia 1 – 1 Athletic Bilbao
09/21 2021 – Athletic Bilbao 1 – 2 Rayo Vallecano
Real Sociedad – Athletic Bilbao Direct comparison / H2H record
Last season, Sociedad prevailed 1-0 away from home in the first leg. This was followed by another success for the Basques in the made-up 2020 Copa del Rey final and the most recent clash from last April in Bilbao ended in a 1-1 draw, leaving Real unbeaten in four comparisons in this pairing (3-1-0).
For the next meeting between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, the odds are already assigning the home side the role of moderate favourites.
Real Sociedad – Athletic Bilbao Tip
The Basque derby could be a tough affair as two extremely defensive teams face each other. For this reason, the tip for the “AP-8 derby” between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao is for a maximum of two goals.
Due to the absence of Oyarzabal, the home side is missing an important striker and the last three derbies ended with less than 2.5 goals each. Furthermore, hardly any goals are scored in the home games of the white-blue team. In concrete terms, the average has been 0.8 so far – clearly the lowest value in a league-wide comparison. Bilbao’s visiting matches have also been low-scoring so far.
Only one goal has been scored on average in these games by coach Marcelino’s team and this is again the lowest number of goals in terms of away games in La Liga! On top of that, none of Real’s six home games in La Liga and the Europa League so far, and in parallel none of Bilbao’s five league outings, have ended with more than two goals!
