Anoeta Stadium will play host to an intriguing La Liga contest on Sunday afternoon, with sixth-placed Real Sociedad welcoming seventh-placed Real Betis.
Real Sociedad recorded a 3-0 win over Villarreal in their last outing at this level of football, while Real Betis held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in Spain's top flight last weekend.
Match preview
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Real Sociedad's goalless draw away to Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday evening saw the Basque outfit secure their spot in the last-16 stage of the competition as Group D winners.
Finishing ahead of Inter is a huge achievement for Imanol Alguacil's side, and they will now be bidding to end 2023 with successive La Liga victories over Real Betis and Cadiz.
Real Sociedad have picked up 10 points from their last four La Liga matches, with the run including a 3-0 victory over Villarreal last weekend; Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi and Takefusa Kubo scored the goals in the dominant performance, with the visitors proving to be too strong for their opponents.
The White and Blues finished fourth in La Liga last season, but they are currently sixth in the table, boasting a record of eight wins, five draws and three defeats from 16 games this term, which has seen them collect 29 points.
Alguacil's side are five points behind fourth-placed Barcelona ahead of the next set of fixtures in Spain's top flight, and they will be determined to stay in touch with the Champions League spots at this stage of the season.
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Real Betis, meanwhile, were also in European action during the week, suffering a 3-2 loss at home to Rangers, which saw them miss out on the chance to claim either first or second in Group C.
Manuel Pellegrini's side instead finished third on nine points, which has seen them drop into the Europa Conference League, which will be a disappointment considering that they won three of their opening four games in the group before losing their last two.
The Green and Whites are on an 11-game unbeaten run in La Liga, though, with their last loss in Spain's top flight proving to be the 5-0 reverse away to Barcelona on September 16.
Since then, the Seville outfit have won four and drawn seven of their 11 matches, including draws in three of their last four, sharing the points with Sevilla, Almeria and Real Madrid.
Pellegrini's team fell behind to Real Madrid last weekend, with Jude Bellingham making the breakthrough in the 53rd minute of the match, but Aitor Ruibal levelled the scores in the 66th minute, with the result moving Real Betis onto 26 points, which has left them seventh in the table, three points behind Real Sociedad.
Team News
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Real Sociedad have three players on the sidelines through injury, with Brais Mendez, Mohamed Ali Cho and Ander Barrenetxea unavailable for selection.
There are not expected to be any major surprises in the home side's XI on Sunday, with the bulk of the side that started against Inter again set to take to the field.
There could be a change at left-back, though, with Kieran Tierney bidding to replace Aihen Munoz.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Kubo should again feature alongside Umar Sadiq in the final third of the field, with Mendez's absence also opening the door for Arsen Zakharyan to keep his spot.
As for Real Betis, Guido Rodriguez, Nabil Fekir, Claudio Bravo, Youssouf Sabaly and Marc Bartra will miss Sunday's contest due to injury problems.
There will be changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Rangers in the Europa League, with Willian Jose, Ruibal and Abner among those set to return.
Assane Diao should keep his position in a wide area despite pressure from Abde Ezzalzouli, while Isco will again feature as the number 10 for Pellegrini's side this weekend.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Traore, Elustondo, Zubeldia, Tierney; Zakharyan, Zubimendi, Merino; Kubo, Sadiq, Oyarzabal
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Ruibal, Pezzella, Riad, Abner; Altimira, Roca; Perez, Isco, Diao; Willian Jose
We say: Real Sociedad 1-1 Real Betis
Two of the last three La Liga matches between these two sides have finished level, while Real Betis are unbeaten against Real Sociedad since October 2020. Both teams will enter the contest off the back of European fixtures, and we are struggling to separate them here, backing a low-scoring draw,
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
