Real Sociedad will be looking to continue their impressive start to the La Liga campaign when they make the trip to Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Sunday afternoon to face basement side Getafe.
The visitors have picked up 16 points from their opening seven matches to occupy second in the table, while Getafe have lost each of their first seven fixtures to sit bottom on zero points.
Match preview
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Getafe finished eighth, fifth and eighth in La Liga between 2017 and 2020 but ended last term in 15th position, and the early indications are that it could be a very tough 2021-22 campaign for the Blues.
Michel's side are only the only team in La Liga yet to pick up a single point this season, losing all seven of their games against Valencia, Sevilla, Barcelona, Elche, Rayo Vallecano, Atletico Madrid and Real Betis to sit bottom of the division, while they also have the joint-worst defensive record, conceding 12 times.
Getafe showed positive signs in their narrow home loss to Atletico on September 21 but could not build on the performance away to Betis last weekend, as they suffered a two-goal defeat in Seville.
There is still a lot of football to be played this season, but the capital outfit will certainly be concerned by their start to the campaign, and head coach Michel must find a winning formula as soon as possible.
Getafe lost both league matches against Real Sociedad last season - including a 1-0 reverse at home - but they did record a 2-1 success in this fixture during the 2019-20 campaign.
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Real Sociedad, meanwhile, have been in impressive form in the early stages of the 2021-22 La Liga season, picking up 16 points from seven matches to sit second in the table, just a point behind leaders Real Madrid.
The Basque outfit have won five of their last six in the league during a strong run, including their last two against Granada and Elche, while they are also unbeaten in the Europa League this term, drawing their opening two Group B fixtures against PSV Eindhoven and Monaco.
Real Sociedad's start to the season is even more impressive considering their injury problems, and it will be vital that head coach Imanol Alguacil manages his squad in the coming weeks, as the squad will become more and more stretched unless the situation eases.
The White and Blues finished fifth in La Liga last season and will be expecting to push high up the division once again, with a top-four challenge certainly in their sights.
Los Txuri-Urdin will also be hoping to make a big impression in the Europa League, and the international break will come at a good time for the club due to their long list of absentees.
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Team News
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Getafe will again be without the services of Jakub Jankto, Sabit Abdulai and Erick Cabaco this weekend through injury, while Vitolo and Mauro Arambarri face late fitness tests.
Sandro Ramirez is available following a recent issue, though, and it would not be a surprise to see the former Barcelona youngster feature alongside Enes Unal in a front two.
Head coach Michel is also expected to recall Damian Suarez, while Carles Alena is available following a one-match suspension and should earn a spot in the first XI.
As for Real Sociedad, a lengthy injury list still includes Carlos Fernandez, Nacho Monreal, Jon Guridi, Diego Rico, David Silva and Jon Pacheco.
Alexander Isak and Asier Illarramendi are both making progress in their recoveries, but this weekend's contest will come too soon for the duo.
Robert Navarro and Alexander Sorloth could both come into the side following Thursday's 1-1 draw with Monaco, but the bulk of the XI that played against the Ligue 1 outfit should again take to the field, with Mikel Oyarzabal and Portu set to retain their spots in attack.
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Dakonam, Cuenca, Olivera; Iglesias, Florentino, Maksimovic, Alena; Sandro, Unal
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Zaldua, Elustondo, Le Normand, Munoz; Guevara, Merino, Navarro; Portu, Sorloth, Oyarzabal
We say: Getafe 0-1 Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad continue to pick up excellent results despite their injury problems, and we are expecting the Basque outfit to record another victory against a struggling Getafe outfit on Sunday.
The home side certainly have the players to make it an uncomfortable fixture for Real Sociedad, but the White and Blues continue to impress and should shade this contest.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Sociedad win with a probability of 52.36%. A draw had a probability of 28.4% and a win for Getafe had a probability of 19.26%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Sociedad win was 0-1 with a probability of 17.56%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (11.77%) and 1-2 (8.15%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 0-0 (13.09%), while for a Getafe win it was 1-0 (9.06%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.1% likelihood.
