Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo

Reale Arena forms the backdrop for a ‘make or break’ La Liga encounter between Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo.

Atletico Madrid humbled Real Sociedad 4-0 last weekend, inflicting significant damage on their pursuit of European qualification by extending La Real’s winless La Liga run to five matches (D2, L3). Facing their lengthiest wait for a top-five victory since January 2022, Imanol Alguacil’s men cannot afford another slip-up if they’re to appear in a major European competition for a sixth season on the spin. However, La Liga’s second longest-serving manager has already announced his decision to leave San Sebastian at the end of the season, dampening the team’s spirits ahead of the season finale. Celta’s visit could reignite confidence among the home fans, with Alguacil beating only two sides more frequently on the touchline than the Vigo outfit (W8, D2, L3).

Visiting Celta can draw confidence from holding Real Sociedad to back-to-back 1-1 draws on this ground as they bid to build on a dramatic 3-2 home win against Sevilla at the weekend. Despite alternating between winning (2) and losing (2) across their last four La Liga matches, Claudio Giraldez’s charges are on the verge of qualifying for UEFA competition for the first time since 2016/17. However, leaving the home comforts of their Baladios Stadium could yet spoil their plans, with Celta only winning 27% of their La Liga point total on the road this season. On the bright side, they have found the net in 11 of their last 12 top-flight travels, including high-scoring defeats at Real Madrid (3-2) and Barcelona (4-3) in the most recent two.