Getafe will be looking to continue their impressive start to the 2020-21 La Liga season when they travel to Real Sociedad on Saturday night.
The capital outfit have picked up seven points from their first three matches this term to top the table, while Sociedad have collected five points from their four encounters to occupy seventh spot.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sociedad opened their 2020-21 campaign with a 1-1 draw at Real Valladolid on September 13 before sharing the points in a goalless draw with Real Madrid one week later.
Imanol Alguacil's side truly got their season up and running against Elche, recording a 3-0 victory last weekend, but the Basque outfit then suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Valencia on Tuesday night.
It would be fair to say that Sociedad have struggled to show their best form early on, but a talented squad should certainly be looking to push for a European finish once again.
The Whites and Blues claimed sixth in La Liga last season, which was enough for a spot in the group stage of the Europa League, but they were 14 points behind fourth-placed Sevilla in the table.
© Reuters
Getafe, as mentioned, have made an encouraging start to their campaign, picking up seven points from three matches, while they will enter this game off the back of a hugely impressive result.
Jose Bordalas's side beat Osasuna on September 19 before drawing at Alaves one week later, but they put three unanswered goals past Real Betis on Tuesday night to make it two victories for the season.
The capital side finished eighth in La Liga last season, missing out on a spot in the Europa League by two points, but they did reach the last-16 stage of Europe's second competition.
Getafe will be looking to push towards the top six during the 2020-21 campaign and will be eyeing another strong result ahead of their next game at home to Barcelona after the international break.
Real Sociedad La Liga form: DDWL
Getafe La Liga form: WDW
Team News
© Reuters
Sociedad will again be without the services of Igor Zubeldia, Luca Sangalli and Asier Illarramendi through injury, but Alguacil is expected to make changes from the defeat to Valencia.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Portu were both named on the bench against Los Che but should return, while there could also be a change in the final third with Willian Jose potentially replacing Alexander Isak.
David Silva will keep his spot in midfield, though, while Nacho Monreal should continue at left-back.
As for Getafe, Amath Ndiaye remains on the sidelines through injury, but the visitors are otherwise in good shape when it comes to absentees for this weekend's contest.
Angel scored a brace against Betis last time out and could therefore keep his spot in the starting XI, with Jaime Mata returning to the side as a replacement for Cucho Hernandez.
There are not expected to be many changes elsewhere, though, with Nemanja Maksimovic and Mauro Arambarri set to continue their partnership in the middle of the park.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Gorosabel, Elustondo, Le Normand, Monreal; Portu, D Silva, Zubimendi, Merino, Oyarzabal; Willian Jose
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Dakonam, Etxeita, Olivera; Nyom, Arambarri, Maksimovic, Cucurella; Angel, Mata
We say: Real Sociedad 1-1 Getafe
Getafe have impressed this season, but there is no question that the capital side will be in for a very tough examination this weekend. Sociedad will be looking for their second victory of the season, but we are struggling to separate the two sides here and have therefore backed a low-scoring draw.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or draw in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Draw:data
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 36.58%. A win for Getafe had a probability of 34.88% and a draw had a probability of 28.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Sociedad win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.85%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.68%) and 2-0 (6.85%). The likeliest Getafe win was 0-1 (11.5%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.29%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 2.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Sociedad would win this match.
