Barcelona vs Real Sociedad

Spotify Camp Nou welcomes newly-crowned La Liga champions Barcelona back as top-four hopefuls Real Sociedad touch down in Catalonia this weekend.

Barcelona return to Camp Nou after being crowned La Liga champions for the first time since 2018/19, courtesy of last weekend’s overwhelming 4-2 win at cross-town rivals Espanyol. Fresh from winning their first top-flight title in the post-Lionel Messi era, Xavi Hernandez’s men are looking to give their fans more reason to celebrate by extending a three-match winning league run. Sociedad’s visit to Catalonia could be just what the doctor ordered, considering the ‘Blaugrana’ have won their last 24 home meetings with the Basque outfit in La Liga! Winning without conceding has been the hallmark of Xavi’s title-winning team this term, with 81% of their league victories in 2022/23 coming ‘to nil’ (22/24). The hosts haven’t conceded in any of their last four home league outings (W3, D1), suggesting another shutout could be on the cards.

In the meantime, visiting Real Sociedad spurned an early two-goal cushion in an action-packed 2-2 home draw against Girona last weekend but will still take the field in a buoyant mood. Unbeaten in five consecutive league games ahead of this trip (W3, D2), the visitors boast a five-point lead over fifth-placed Villarreal at the start of this round. But with four games left, Sociedad’s bid to secure Champions League qualification for the first time since 2013/14 could use some insurance. Unfortunately for manager Imanol Alguacil, his men have developed a habit of dropping points on the road, managing just one win on their last six La Liga travels (D2, L3). What’s even more concerning for Sociedad fans is that four of those six matches saw ‘La Real’ fail to trouble the scoreboard.