Valencia need to make up ground in the league
In Spain, the battle for the international starting places continues to be exciting. With Valencia and Real Sociedad, two teams will meet on Sunday that both still have hopes of at least competing in the Conference League next year. The visitors from San Sebastian, who are five points ahead of the hosts, currently hold the better cards in their hands.
The home side have made a sluggish start to the new year, but that is down to a very tough programme. The black and whites had to play three of the top four teams in the current table. More than the one point was possible, as the Ches looked like sure winners at Atletico for a long time, but ended up empty-handed. They will now be aiming for their first three points of 2022 against San Sebastian. In the clash between Valencia and Real Sociedad, odds of 2.90 are offered for a bet on the Blanquinegros.
The visitors are establishing themselves in the top third of the table and can be in good spirits to play a good role in the fight for international competitions. The gap to the top teams Real Madrid and Sevilla FC, who are currently fighting a duel for the Spanish championship, has already grown considerably, but everything up to third place is possible for the white-blue team. Kick-off at the Estadio de Mestalla is at 14:00 on Sunday lunchtime.
Valencia – Statistics & current form
After a decent start to the season, the Blanquinegros face the same fate as in the previous two years. If they don’t start picking up points again, the black and whites won’t end up in anything more than a mid-table position. That would leave Valencia behind their own expectations. After all, Los Ches won the Spanish Cup in 2019 and qualified for the Champions League.
The 2004 champions have collected 29 points from the first 22 games of the current season with seven wins and eight draws. In the standings, this currently means tenth place, five points behind their upcoming opponents from San Sebastian, who are currently in the last place eligible for participation in an international competition. The lead to the bottom of the table is a reassuring eleven points.
Valencia are four league games without a win
The reason for the poor starting position is a series of four games without a win, in which only one point was earned. In addition to the 1-1 draw against Sevilla FC, there were defeats against Espanyol Barcelona (1:2) and at Real Madrid (1:4). On the last matchday, there was a needless 2:3 defeat at Atletico. The team of head coach Pepe Bordalas was already leading 2:0 and had to concede two goals in injury time. Against San Sebastian, however, they should turn the tables, even if the betting odds in Valencia’s match against Real Sociedad are leaning towards the visitors.
Ahead of the pack, back of the pack
The strengths of the black and whites lie in the offensive. With 35 goals, only four teams are currently more prolific than the hosts. Their top scorer is the Portuguese Goncalo Guedes with eight goals. The defensive record is in stark contrast. Keeper Cillessen has already had to fish the ball out of his own net 36 times. Only Levante, bottom of the table, conceded more goals than the home side.
In the Copa del Rey this week, Valencia reached the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over Cadiz CF on Wednesday night.
Predicted line-up of Valencia:
Domenech – Correia, Foulquier, Diakhaby, Lato – Soler, Guillamon, Musah, Salvatierra – Guedes, Duro
Last matches played by Valencia:
Copa del Rey
02/02 2022 – Valencia 2 – 1 Cadiz
LaLiga
01/22 2022 – Atletico Madrid 3 – 2 Valencia
01/19 2022 – Valencia 1 – 1 Sevilla
Copa del Rey
01/16 2022 – Atletico Baleares 0 – 1 Valencia
LaLiga
01/08 2022 – Real Madrid 4 – 1 Valencia
Real Sociedad – Statistics & current form
Last season, the white-blues captured an excellent fifth place and qualified for the UEFA Europa League. This season, too, things are going like clockwork and the guests danced on three weddings for a long time. But since Thursday, that is history. A 0:4 defeat eliminated Real Sociedad from the cup.
The Basques currently occupy sixth place in La Liga, which would also entitle them to participate in an international competition next year. With nine wins and seven draws, they have collected 34 points so far. The gap to a Champions League place is only two points. But the table is very tight in this region and the chasers are breathing down La Real’s neck.
San Sebastian with good defence
In the games they have played, the Txuri-Urdinak have been able to rely particularly on their stable defence. Only 21 times did the opponents manage to overcome keeper Remiro. Only three teams conceded fewer goals. On the other hand, there is a lack of penetrating power up front. Head coach Imanol Alguacil’s men scored only 22 times. The attack around their star Mikel Oyarzabal, who is his team’s best scorer with seven goals, still has a lot of room for improvement here.
Real Sociedad are still without defeat in the league this year
The white and blue are still unbeaten in the league this year. In addition to a 1-0 win against Celta Vigo, there were two draws at Alaves (1-1) and against Getafe (0-0). On their opponents’ pitch, however, the Basques have been waiting for a three-game win. For Sunday’s clash, the betting companies see the visitors with a slight advantage and offer odds of 2.60 at the top for the white-blue team in the match Valencia vs Real Sociedad.
San Sebastian is also still in business internationally. The Alguacil team finished second in Europa League Group B and is now looking forward to a clash with RB Leipzig in the round of 16.
Predicted line-up of Real Sociedad:
Remiro – Zaldua, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Munoz – Merino, Guevara, Silva – Oyarzabal, Isak, Januzaj
Last matches played by Real Sociedad:
Copa del Rey
02/03 2022 – San Sebastian 0 – 4 Real Betis
LaLiga
01/23 2022 – San Sebastian 0 – 0 Getafe
Copa del Rey
01/19 2022 – San Sebastian 2 – 0 Atletico Madrid
LaLiga
01/08 2022 – San Sebastian 1 – 0 Celta Vigo
Copa del Rey
01/05 2022 – Leganes 2 – 3 San Sebastian
Valencia – Real Sociedad Direct comparison / H2H balance
The two teams have faced each other 141 times in La Liga. Valencia FC are ahead in the overall standings with 59 victories. San Sebastian, on the other hand, have only 46 victories to their name. In the first leg of the current season, the two teams played out a goalless 0-0 draw.
For Sunday’s clash, bettors see the slightly better-placed guests at an advantage. In the match between Valencia and Real Sociedad, the predictions tend more towards an away win. However, the white-blue team has failed to win in its last four visits to the Blanquinegros. In five of the last seven direct encounters, less than 2.5 goals have been scored.
Valencia – Real Sociedad tip
Sunday’s clash is particularly important for the hosts. After four games without a win, they urgently need to score three points if coach Bordalas’ team does not want to sink into the no-man’s land of the league.
The visitors, lying in sixth place, still have a catch-up game to play. This gives them the opportunity to move even further up the table and improve their good starting position. After three games without defeat, the white and blue team will be travelling to Valencia with a lot of self-confidence.
The hosts’ attack has been reliable so far. They have scored in 20 of the 22 league games they have played. The problem child is the defence, which simply concedes too many goals. We build on this in our conclusion. We recommend betting on a duel between Valencia and Real Sociedad in which both teams score a goal. We are offering odds of 1.85 on this match.
We think that it will be a duel of equals in which small details will be decisive. Therefore, we see the greater value in the higher odds for the hosts. Alternatively, you can risk a small bet on the Blanquinegros in the match Valencia vs Real Sociedad at odds of 2.90
