The Matchday 20 clash in La Liga between Valencia and Real Sociedad will take place on January 19 at the Mestalla Stadium. Valencia vs. Real Sociedad: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Predicted lineups for Valencia vs. Real Sociedad
Valencia (4-2-3-1): Giorgi Mamardashvili – Cesar Tárrega, José Luis Gayà, Dimitri Foulquier, Cristhian Mosquera – Enzo Barrenechea, Javi Guerra – Luis Rioja, Diego López, André Almeida – Hugo Duro.
Real Sociedad (4-1-4-1): Alejandro Remiro – Jon Aramburu, Aihen Muñoz, Aritz Elustondo, Nayef Aguerd – Martín Zubimendi – Takefusa Kubo, Sergio Gómez, Luka Sučić, Brais Méndez – Mikel Oyarzabal.
Each team's lineup reflects their starting eleven from their previous match in this tournament.
Valencia
The club has already played two La Liga matches in January: first losing at home to Real Madrid (1-2), then drawing away with Sevilla (1-1). Consequently, Valencia's winless streak in La Liga has extended to seven matches, comprising three draws and four losses. The club has fallen to the bottom of the standings, trailing the safe 17th spot by four points.
Defender Thierry Correia will miss the game due to injury.
- Both teams have scored in 8 of Valencia's last 10 La Liga matches.
- The number "1" has appeared in the final score of 6 of Valencia's last 7 league matches.
- The club has secured only two first-half wins in their last 19 La Liga outings (9 draws and 8 losses).
Real Sociedad
The Basques secured a hard-fought and crucial victory in their last round, defeating Villarreal 1-0 at home. Before that, they had gone two consecutive La Liga matches without a win or a goal – a draw with Las Palmas (0-0) and a loss to Celta Vigo (0-2). San Sebastián currently sits in 7th place, but they are only two points away from the European competition zone. It's worth noting that the club has conceded just 13 goals, with only Atlético Madrid (12) having a better defensive record in the league.
Defender Amari Traoré will miss the game due to injury, while his counterpart Jon Aramburu is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
- At least one team has failed to score in Real Sociedad's last 10 La Liga matches.
- No more than two goals have been scored in 10 of Real Sociedad's last 11 La Liga games.
- The Basques have not lost in the second half in 14 consecutive league matches (5 wins and 9 draws).
Valencia vs. Real Sociedad: Match Prediction
The visitors are slight favorites for the upcoming match. However, I believe the hosts have a good chance of not losing on their home turf. Valencia has shown some improvement since the managerial change, which was evident in their January matches: they almost took points from Real Madrid and earned a point away at Sevilla. It's also worth noting that Valencia led in both of these matches but failed to secure victories, and Carlos Corberán will likely address this issue.
Real Sociedad is significantly higher in the standings but scores at a level similar to La Liga's lower-ranked teams. Even Valencia has scored one more goal than the Basques. By playing with utmost caution in defense, the hosts could aim for at least a draw. Moreover, their primary goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has returned from injury. It's also noteworthy that in the last seven head-to-head meetings at Mestalla in La Liga, Valencia has lost to Real Sociedad only once (2 wins and 4 draws).
My prediction – Valencia win or draw