Real Sociedad vs Cadiz

Reale Arena forms the backdrop for a high-stakes La Liga showdown between European hopefuls Real Sociedad and relegation-fighting Cadiz.

Out-of-sorts Real Sociedad bounced back from a 4-1 aggregate loss to Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League last-16 tie with a goal-glutted 3-2 win at Granada last weekend. But despite finishing the previous round one point clear of seventh-placed Real Betis, their hopes of securing European football for next season remain in doubt. La Real’s form since the start of February has been disappointing, to say the least, with Imanol Alguacil’s side picking up just two wins in ten competitive games in that span (D3, L5). Back to San Sebastian, Sociedad will be desperate to post their first La Liga home triumph since November and snap a five-match winless streak in home league action (D3, L2). Worryingly, most of those clashes came against bottom-half sides, suggesting a win here is far from a foregone conclusion.

On the other hand, Cadiz punched above their weight to end a disastrous 23-game winless league run last weekend, beating Atletico Madrid 2-0 on home soil. Despite recording their first win against a side from the upper half of the standings after 14 consecutive failed attempts (D5, L9), the visitors start this round two points adrift of safety. But after registering his first triumph since taking charge of Cadiz (D4, L2), new manager Mauricio Pellegrino will hope to reignite his side’s underwhelming away form on this trip. As one of only three La Liga teams yet to win on the road this season (D6, L8), El Submarino Amarillo should not stand a chance of claiming their first win against Sociedad in the 21st century (D5, L8). Moreover, they’ve only netted seven goals across their 14 top-flight travels this term.