Will Alaves get back on track with a new coach?
Soon after the start of the new year, the ball is rolling again in the Spanish La Liga. On matchday 19, Alaves will welcome the guests from San Sebastian. Both teams were not very successful before the short Christmas break. It remains to be seen which of the teams made better use of the days off to start the new year victoriously.
The hosts are without a treble for six games. The situation in the table is correspondingly dramatic. That’s why the management pulled the ripcord this week and sacked coach Calleja. As things stand, the Babazorros would have to go down the bitter road to the second division. Success in the upcoming home game is all the more important to improve their starting position.
The visitors have also been waiting for a win in the league for weeks and lost their excellent position at the top of the table. In order to stay in the race for the international places, the knot must finally break against Deportivo. Another defeat could see them slip into mid-table. Kick-off at the Estadio Mendizorrotza is at 6:30 p.m.
Alaves – Statistics & current form
For the Basques, it was already just about staying in the league in the last two years. At the end of each season, the blue and white stood just above the line and ultimately secured their place in the top Spanish league. This season, the Babazorros are once again up to their necks in the relegation battle. With the new coach, Jose Luis Mendilibar, the Babazorros want to give a new impetus in order to stay in the relegation zone.
The Glorioso have collected just 15 points from their first 18 games. This currently means 18th place due to the worse goal difference and thus the first direct relegation place. The teams ahead of Deportivo, Elche and Getafe, are level on points with the Blue and Whites. However, there is already a gap of five points between them and 15th place.
Alaves with offensive problems
Let’s take a look at the construction sites of Mendilibar’s eleven: With only 15 goals scored, the Basques have the second-worst offensive performance in La Liga. Only Getafe scored less often, with twelve goals. Joselu has already scored nine times, making him by far the best scorer for the blue and white team. The defence in front of keeper Fernando Pacheco has already allowed 29 goals. This is the third-worst figure in the league.
For six games now, the hosts have been waiting for a three-goal win in a championship match. Only two draws against Getafe (1:1) and Sevilla FC (2:2) have been achieved. Before the short winter break, there were two defeats at Rayo Vallecano (0:2) and Villarreal (2:5). The bookmakers also see black for Sunday’s match and do not make a good prediction for a success of the home side in the match Alaves against Real Sociedad.
Deportivo eliminated in cup
The last performances in the home arena should give courage. After all, seven points were collected from the last four home games. With the exception of defender Ximo Navarro, who is still suffering from the consequences of a cruciate ligament rupture, the new coach has all his men at his disposal. Before Christmas, Alaves were also eliminated from the Copa del Rey. They lost 1:2 against the underclass team from Linares.
Predicted line-up of Alaves:
Pacheco – Aguirregabiria, Tachi, Laguardia, Lopez – Pons, Ndiaye, Piuna, Rioja – Sylla, Joselu
Last matches played by Alaves:
LaLiga
12/21 2021 – Villarreal FC 5 – 2 Deportivo Alaves
12/18 2021 – Rayo Vallecano 2 – 0 Deportivo Alaves
Copa del Rey
12/14 2021 – Linares Deportivo 2 – 1 Deportivo Alaves
LaLiga
12/11 2021 – Deportivo Alaves 1 – 1 Getafe
12/03 2021 – Granada 2 – 1 Deportivo Alaves
Real Sociedad – Statistics & current form
The visitors finished a strong fifth in the table last season and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. The Txuri-Urdin also made an excellent start to the current season. After 13 matchdays, the white and blue greeted us from the top of the table, but since then La Real’s engine has stalled.
Real Sociedad have now waited five league games for a three-point win. The last four duels at Espanyol (0:1) and Betis Sevilla (0:4), as well as against Real Madrid (0:2) and Villareal (1:3) have all been lost, and head coach Imanol Alguacil’s side have scored only one goal of their own.
La Real are doing well
In total, the visitors have collected 29 points so far and occupy sixth place in the table. This position would entitle them to participate in the Conference League at the end of the season. The gap to a Champions League place is only one point, but the pursuers from Barcelona and Valencia are also right on San Sebastian’s heels.
The strength of the white-blue team is to be found in the defence. With only 20 goals conceded, La Real has the fifth-best record in the league. The offensive record is much more capable of improvement. The opposing keeper has only been overcome 20 times. This is by far the worst figure in the top flight.
San Sebastian are still involved in the Copa and the Europa League
In the Copa, the visitors reached the round of sixteen with a 3-0 win at Zamora. The Alguacil eleven has also been convincing in the Europa League group stage so far. They finished second in Group B behind AS Monaco and thus made it into the knockout games.
On their opponents’ pitch, the white and blue team has already picked up 14 points, but the last two games were lost. Nevertheless, the Txuri-Urdin take on the role of favourites in the upcoming duel. In the Alaves vs Real Sociedad match, betting on the men from San Sebastian is rewarded with odds of 2.30 at the top.
Predicted line-up of Real Sociedad:
Ryan – Zaldua, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Munoz – Zubimendi, Merino, Januzaj, Portu – Isak, Silva
Last matches played by Real Sociedad:
LaLiga
12/18 2021 – San Sebastian 1 – 3 FC Villarreal
Copa del Rey
12/15 2021 – Zamora 0 – 3 San Sebastian
LaLiga
12/12 2021 – Real Betis 4 – 0 San Sebastian
Europa League Grp. B
12/09 2021 – San Sebastian 3 – 0 PSV Eindhoven
LaLiga
12/04 2021 – San Sebastian 0 – 2 Real Madrid
Alaves – Real Sociedad Direct comparison / H2H balance
These two teams have met in 32 matches. The overall balance is clearly in favour of the visitors. San Sebastian won 16 times, while the hosts were only successful on nine occasions. Last season, Los Txuri-Urdin won 4-0 at home. At Deportivo, the teams parted with a goalless 0-0 draw.
In the last four games, the respective away team did not manage a three-pointer. According to the bookmakers, this series will be broken at the weekend. In the match between Alaves and Real Sociedad, all the bookmakers’ predictions go in the direction of a success for the white-blue team.
Alaves – Real Sociedad Tip
Two teams with poor form in the league meet on Sunday evening. The hosts sacked their coach this week and are now looking to make the leap out of the bottom of the table with a new man on the line. After six games without a win, a treble is desperately needed, but the bookmakers are pessimistic and offer odds of 3.55 for bets on the hosts in the Alaves vs Real Sociedad match.
The visitors lost their last four league games in a row and thus gave away their excellent position in the table. If the negative run does not end as soon as possible, a slide into the midfield of the table cannot be prevented.
We expect a match in which both teams will first place a lot of emphasis on a stable defence due to their recent performances. It will be exciting to see whether the new coach of the home side has already been able to set the first impulses. The visitors will be without international player Oyarzabal, who is suspended. We therefore believe in the hosts and recommend betting on the double chance 1/X at odds of 1.67 at the top in the match between Alaves and Real Sociedad.
Alternatively, we expect a low-scoring game, so that in the match Alaves vs Real Sociedad, at odds of 1.60, the bet on a game with a maximum of two goals has good chances of success.
