The 20th-round La Liga match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona will take place 18 january at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastián. Real Sociedad vs Barcelona: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad began 2026 without defeat. During the league break Pellegrino Matarazzo took charge of the home side, and his debut was fairly successful: the home side drew with Atlético Madrid 1:1. That was followed by an important away victory over Getafe with a decisive late goal (2:1), which marked the club's first league win in six matches. The unbeaten run in La Liga has reached three matches (1 win, 2 draws). Importantly, the team moved up to 11th place in the standings. A negative point is that the squad has failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 league matches.
- Real Sociedad Have Won With Handicap (+1.5) In 14 Consecutive La Liga Matches.
- The Club's Home Scoring Run In This Competition Lasts 5 Games.
- Both Teams Scored In 10 Of Real Sociedad's Last 11 La Liga Matches.
Potential Real Sociedad Lineup (4-3-3)*
Alejandro Remiro – Duje Caleta-Car, Jon Martin, Jon Aramburu, Sergio Gómez – Carlos Soler, Beñat Turrientes, Brais Mendez – Takefusa Kubo, Gonçalo Guedes, Mikel Oyarzabal.
Midfielder Yangel Herrera will miss out due to injury.
Barcelona
Barcelona ended the first half of La Liga with another victory, scraping three points in the away derby with Espanyol (2:0). Barcelona have now won nine league matches in a row, maintaining a comfortable lead over Atlético Madrid, who remain four points behind. It is worth noting that during the winning run the visitors have consistently scored at least two goals per game. Overall in the current La Liga campaign the club has scored 53 goals in total – the highest tally in the competition. In addition, Barcelona have kept three consecutive clean sheets in the league, their best such run this season.
- Barcelona Have Scored In 39 La Liga Matches.
- The Club's Relentless Run In This Competition Has Reached 16 Matches (14 Wins, 2 Losses).
- Both Teams Scored In 7 Of Barcelona's Last 9 La Liga Meetings.
Potential Barcelona Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Joan Garcia – Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Alex Balde – Frenkie de Jong, Eric Garcia – Marcus Rashford, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha – Ferran Torres.
Forward Raphinha, defender Andreas Christensen, and midfielder Gavi are unavailable due to injuries.
Referee
Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)
Matches – 11 (La Liga, 2025/26);
Yellow/Red Cards Shown (Including Second Yellows) – 44;
Average Yellow Cards Per Match – 4;
Red Cards Shown – 5;
Fouls Per Match – 23;
Penalties – 18%.
Real Sociedad vs Barcelona: Match Prediction
Real Sociedad, under their new coach, have started the year well: the first two La Liga matches brought four points and an unbeaten run in the competition has reached three matches (1 win, 2 draws). However, the home side now face one of their most difficult opponents. Since 2020 Real Sociedad have recorded only two wins in 12 La Liga head-to-head meetings with Barcelona, and lost the rest. Home support usually does not help much either: at Anoeta Real Sociedad have lost six of the previous eight head-to-head league meetings with Barcelona.
Barcelona have already won the Spanish Super Cup and extended their La Liga winning streak to nine matches. In the league the visitors have not slipped up since October and have dealt with opponents of varying strengths. The few stumbles in the current campaign have come away from home, but Barcelona are unbeaten in their last four away league games ahead of the trip to San Sebastián.
The visitors once again look like favorites for the upcoming match.
Prediction: Barcelona to win
* For each team, the starting lineup shown is from its previous match in this competition.
