The Matchday 34 clash in La Liga between Real Sociedad and Athletic will take place on May 4 at the Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastián. Real Sociedad vs. Athletic: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Real Sociedad
The San Sebastián side has not tasted victory in La Liga for three matches. The team lost at home to Mallorca (0-2), then went on the road to draw with Villarreal (2-2) and lost to Alavés (0-1). Imanol Alguacil's men have slipped to 10th place but still have a chance to qualify for European competitions, being just two points behind the 8th spot. Also noteworthy is the team's weak attacking performance, with only 32 goals scored. Only four teams in La Liga have scored fewer.
- The Basques have failed to win 6 of their last 8 La Liga matches (2 draws and 4 losses).
- At least three goals were scored in 10 of Real Sociedad's last 13 La Liga games.
- San Sebastián has conceded just one goal in the first half of their last 10 home league matches.
Predicted lineup for Real Sociedad (4-4-2)
Alejandro Remiro – Jon Martin, Jon Aramburu, Javi Lopez, Jon Pacheco – Sergio Gomez, Martin Zubimendi, Pablo Marin Tejada, Brais Mendez – Takefusa Kubo, Mikel Oyarzabal.
Athletic
The team quickly recovered from an away defeat to Real Madrid (0-1). In the next round, the Basques defeated Las Palmas at home by the same scoreline. It's worth noting that Athletic has suffered only two defeats in their last 24 La Liga matches, losing to Atlético and Real Madrid (12 wins and 10 draws). Ernesto Valverde's men hold onto the fourth spot in the standings, but have not yet secured a Champions League place for next season, with a 6-point gap over the sixth-placed team. Also noteworthy is the club's impressive defense, which has conceded only 26 goals.
- At least one team has failed to score in 5 of Athletic's last 6 La Liga games.
- No more than two goals were scored in 7 of Athletic's last 8 La Liga matches.
- In 6 of the club's last 8 league games, the first half ended in a goalless draw.
Predicted lineup for Athletic (4-3-3)
Unai Simón – Óscar De Marcos, Daniel Vivian, Yuri Berchiche, Yeray Álvarez – Oihan Sancet, Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Mikel Jauregui – Maroane Sannadi, Iñaki Williams, Alex Berenguer.
Midfielder Oihan Sancet is out due to injury.
Referee
César Soto Grado (Spain)
Matches – 17 (La Liga, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 70;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.1;
Red cards shown – 5;
Average fouls per match – 23;
Penalties – 24%.
Match Prediction: Real Sociedad vs. Athletic
In the upcoming match, I give a slight edge to the visitors. Both clubs are consistently fighting for European spots, but this season the club from Bilbao is playing noticeably better and is already contending for the Champions League, while Real Sociedad is performing worse than in previous years and might even miss out on the top 7. The difference in current form is evident in the number of losses in the current La Liga: Real Sociedad has 15, while Athletic has 5.
I also expect the match to be low-scoring. Athletic boasts the best defense in the league, conceding more than one goal only once in their last 24 La Liga games. Meanwhile, Real Sociedad is struggling in attack, even at home, where they have scored only 17 goals in 16 matches in the current La Liga season. Therefore, I believe the visiting team will at least not lose, and there will be a maximum of three goals in this match.
My prediction – Double chance X2 and Total under 3.5 goals
