Sixth win in a row for Sociedad?
January in Spain is traditionally dominated by the Copa del Rey. However, the top teams now have far less of a workload, as the first leg and second leg mode now only exists in the semi-finals.
At the moment, however, we are only in the round of 16 and the first team for the quarter-finals will be determined in the clash between Real Sociedad and Mallorca. A bet on the home side offers odds of around 1.75, while the visitors can tempt you with five times that amount.
The first quarter-final is all about “royalty”. The Copa del Rey is also translated as the King’s Cup. In addition, both the home side from the Basque Country and the guests from the island have included the addition “Real” in their official club name, which also means royal.
Otherwise, similarities are not necessarily to be found, because the hosts have played a fantastic season so far, while the guests are only in the midfield of LaLiga. Even though the cup often writes its own stories, predicting a home win for Real Sociedad against Mallorca is an exciting option.
The absolute highlight on Thursday is certainly the duel between Villarreal and Real Madrid. The match in this duel at the Reale Arena kicks off on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.
Real Sociedad – Statistics & current form
On top in the Spanish LaLiga are once again the Blaugrana from Barcelona as well as the Royals from Madrid, but behind them, after 17 of 38 matchdays, there is a team that is considered to have great potential, but was not expected to deliver it so consistently.
The Basque team Real Sociedad de San Sebastian is playing an outstanding season so far – and on all three highs. In the Europa League, they beat Manchester United in the group stage, in the league they are currently “best of the rest” and in the Copa del Rey they are still represented.
Derbysieg is fifth competitive win in a row
Imanol Aguacil’s team is brimming with confidence these days and is therefore quite rightly regarded as clear favourites. The already broad chest became a little broader again on Saturday evening. In the biggest Basque derby against LaLiga founding member Athletic Bilbao, RSSS managed a 3:1 victory in front of their home crowd. After three winless derbies against Athletic Bilbao, the Blue and Whites were able to rejoice and underpin third place in the table. The lead over a “non-Champions League place” is now a proud seven points. 35 points from 17 games is the best result since the 2002/03 season.
After the Spanish goalkeeper Alex Remiro kept his box clean in the first four competitive games after the World Cup break, he had to make another save in the derby. However, these figures are testament to the defensive strength of Aguacil’s side in recent weeks/months. Eight of the 18 goals conceded were against FC Barcelona (1:4) and Girona (5:3). In the remaining 15 league games, RSSS conceded only ten goals. Therefore, between Real Sociedad and Mallorca, the bet that both teams will not score finds its way into our top tips.
Imanol Aguacil will certainly use the cup quarter-final to rotate a little, but big experiments are not to be expected. Already in the last round against second division side UD Logrones, a large part of the regular team was to be found in the first eleven. This will not change in a home match and players like captain Illaramendi or Merino will probably start.
Predicted line-up of Real Sociedad:
Remiro – Munoz, Pacheco, Le Normand, Gorosabel – Guevara, Illarramendi, Merino – Navarro, Sörloth, Mendez
Last matches played by Real Sociedad:
La Liga
15/01/2023 – Real Sociedad 3 – 1 Athletic Bilbao
08/01/2023 – Almeria 0 – 2 Real Sociedad
Copa del Rey
05/01/2023 – Logrones 0 – 1 Real Sociedad
La Liga
31/12/2022 – Real Sociedad 2 – 0 Osasuna Pamplona
Copa del Rey
22/12/2022 – CD Coria 0 – 5 Real Sociedad
Mallorca – Statistics & current form
The island kickers are in their second year after re-promotion and often this is described as the most difficult year. In this respect, the club can actually be quite satisfied with the current course of the season.
They have 22 points, compared to two points less after 17 games last year. The lead over the first relegation place is currently a comfortable seven points. Tenth place in the table at the end of the season would be an outstanding result, the best result since the 2011/12 season.
Goals are a rarity in Mallorca
Depending on your point of view, Javier Aguirre’s side are top or bottom in one category. And that is when it comes to how many goals are scored. The current goal ratio is slightly negative despite tenth place in the table, with 14 goals scored and 16 conceded by RCD Mallorca. This results in an average of just 1.79 goals per game, which is the lowest figure of all 20 LaLiga teams. The Mallorcans also have the lowest percentage of games with three or more goals, only in three league games would this have been the right decision. Most recently, there were six games in a row with a maximum of two goals.
Destructive football, which is very concerned with safety, characterises Mallorca’s play. The goal chances are manageable and with the Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic, Mallorca has a very strong goalkeeper. In the cup, however, the Slovakian Dominik Greif will be preferred. Nevertheless, the mixture of these numbers and the fact that it is a knockout duel, where any mistake could already mean the end, ensures a high probability that the prediction for few goals between Real Sociedad and Mallorca will be correct.
In the cup competition so far, Mallorca had no problems with amateur club CD Autol (6:0), before things got much tighter in rounds two and three against third division teams. Although they have not conceded a goal so far, the narrow 1-0 win and 2-0 after extra time were not outstanding performances. The game in the Basque Country will be a much more difficult task, a positive end for the islanders? Hard to imagine.
Predicted line-up of Mallorca:
Greif – Cufre, Russo, Nastasic, Copete, Gonzalez – Kadewere, Ruiz de Galarreta, Grenier, Ndiaye – Rodriguez
Last matches played in Mallorca:
La Liga
15/01/2023 – Osasuna Pamplona 1 – 0 Mallorca
08/01/2023 – Mallorca 1 – 0 Real Valladolid
Copa del Rey
05/01/2023 – Pontevedra 0 – 2 Mallorca
La Liga
30/12/2022 – Getafe 2 – 0 Mallorca
Copa del Rey
21/12/2022 – Real Union 0 – 1 Mallorca
Real Sociedad – Mallorca Direct comparison / H2H balance
The direct comparison between the two royals is extremely home-heavy. In the various competitions, there have been 57 duels so far, with only nine victories for the respective guest (Mallorca won four times away from home, Real Sociedad celebrated five away victories). Two of those five away wins for the Basques came in the last two visits to Germany’s most popular island. In LaLiga, in the last six matches between Real Sociedad and Mallorca, betting on the Basques was the right decision. In fact, RSSS won all six of those games without conceding a goal.
Real Sociedad – Mallorca Tip
Both teams have yet to face any significant opposition in their previous appearances in the 2022/23 Copa del Rey, with all rivals coming from the third division (or lower). This will now change in the round of 16, but the bookmakers still see a clear favourite between Real Sociedad and Mallorca according to the odds. The momentum as well as the direct comparison speak a more than clear language in favour of the hosts from the Basque country.
The home side have won their last six direct encounters (to nil), have recently celebrated five competitive match victories in a row and can currently call themselves the “best of the rest” in Spain behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The Mallorcans are playing a very good season so far by their standards, but the difference in quality cannot be denied. Our main tip between Real Sociedad and Mallorca is to predict a home win. If you want to take a little more risk, you can also find a good opportunity with the bet “RSSS to 0” at interesting odds.
