Real Sociedad will be bidding to return to winning ways when they open their 2024 with a La Liga contest against fellow Basque outfit Alaves on Tuesday evening.
The home side drew 0-0 with Cadiz ahead of the winter break in Spain's top flight, while Alaves suffered a 1-0 defeat to division leaders Real Madrid last time out.
Match preview
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Real Sociedad's biggest success in the first half of the 2023-24 campaign was their performance in the group stage of the Champions League, having finished at the head of the section above Inter Milan, with the La Liga side progressing to the last-16 stage of the competition as Group D winners.
Imanol Alguacil's side will take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first knockout round, while they also managed to progress in the Copa del Rey courtesy of a 1-0 success over Andratx, with their next match in the competition taking place next weekend against Malaga.
Real Sociedad's league form, meanwhile, has been solid without being spectacular, boasting a record of eight wins, seven draws and three defeats from 18 matches, which has left them in sixth position in the table on 31 points.
The Basque side are four points behind fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao and seven from fourth-placed Barcelona, but there is no question that their aim this season will be another Champions League finish.
The White and Blues have not lost in the league since a 1-0 reverse to Barcelona at the start of November, but they have shared the points in three of their last four La Liga encounters, including their last two, which have both been 0-0, against Real Betis and Cadiz.
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Alaves, meanwhile, suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Real Madrid before the winter break, with the result making it three defeats in a row for Luis Garcia's side.
The Blue and Whites secured a return to La Liga for the 2023-24 campaign through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, and they are therefore looking to consolidate back at this level of football.
Alaves have won four, drawn four and lost 10 of their 18 league games this season to collect 16 points, which has left them in 16th position in the table heading into the next set of matches in Spain's top flight.
Garcia's team are only three points clear of the relegation zone, and finding the back of the net has been their main issue this season, with the side the joint-lowest goalscorers in La Liga in 2023-24 alongside Cadiz, having only managed to find the opposition's net on 14 occasions.
El Glorioso suffered a 1-0 defeat when they last visited Real Sociedad in La Liga in March 2022, but they have managed two wins from their last eight meetings with their Basque rivals.
Team News
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Real Sociedad will be missing four players through injury on Tuesday, with Hamari Traore, Martin Merquelanz, Arsen Zakharyan and Ander Barrenetxea unavailable for selection.
Head coach Alguacil is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the goalless draw with Cadiz last time out, with the same XI potentially taking to the field.
Takefusa Kubo and Mikel Oyarzabal should again be joined in the final third by Umar Sadiq, while there will be another start at left-back for on-loan Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney.
As for Alaves, Aleksandar Sedlar remains unavailable for selection due to a long-term knee problem, while on-loan Atletico Madrid forward Giuliano Simeone is still missing due to the serious ankle injury that he suffered during pre-season.
The visitors will also be unable to call upon Ruben Duarte, with the defender picking up a milestone yellow card during the narrow loss to Real Madrid last time out.
Javi Lopez is expected to benefit from Duarte's absence to come into the XI, but there are unlikely to be further changes, as the performance against Real Madrid was a positive one, with Antonio Blanco and Jon Guridi both set to retain their spots in the side.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Odriozola, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Tierney; Mendez, Zubimendi, Merino; Kubo, Sadiq, Oyarzabal
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Gorosabel, Abqar, Marin, Lopez; Blanco, Guevara; Rioja, Guridi, Rebbach; Omorodion
We say: Real Sociedad 1-0 Alaves
Alaves might have problems scoring, but they have only conceded 24 times this season, which is far from disastrous. Real Sociedad are also finding it difficult to win at the moment, so we are expecting this to be a tight match, but the hosts should have enough quality to secure all three points.
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