La Liga Round 1 – FC Barcelona vs Real Sociedad: Betting Preview

Barcelona begin the post-Messi era by welcoming Real Sociedad to Camp Nou for their first match of the new La Liga season on Sunday night.

Lionel Messi’s departure was a tremendous loss, but one the Catalan club cannot afford to dwell on any longer. It’s back to business now as Barcelona seek to improve on last season’s third-place finish. To do so, Ronald Koeman has welcomed three new players in Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia.

Real Sociedad, on the other hand, sealed their highest finish since 2012/13 in fifth place last season. Imanol Alguacil’s men hope to build on this result and have welcomed Diego Rico and Mathew Ryan to the fold this summer. And with their star players still around, La Real can be hopeful of another decent campaign.

Stats and analysis

Barcelona have a better record from their 10 matches across all competitions (friendlies included) than their opponents. The Blaugrana averaged 2.2 goals per game, with a total of 22 goals scored. They’ve also conceded just 10 goals for an average of 1.0 per game and kept five clean sheets.

Real Sociedad, meanwhile, head into the new La Liga season with a mixed record from their 10 matches across all competitions (friendlies included). The Basque outfit averaged about adequate 1.7 goals per game, with a total of 17 goals scored. In contrast, they only allowed 11 goals against them for an average of 1.1 per game. Rather amazingly, they only kept their opponents from scoring in 2 of the matches.

Facts and figures for Barcelona vs Real Sociedad

Fun stats Barcelona

Fun stats Real Sociedad

Form Guides

Their upcoming match presents yet another opportunity for Barcelona to end their miserable run of results. In their 3 final La Liga outings last season Ronald Koeman’s men achieved a 3-3 draw against Levante and went on to a 2-1 defeat against Celta Vigo. Their latest game produced a 1-0 win against Eibar.

Results have been close to hopeless for Real Sociedad in recent months and a quick turnaround is sorely needed. In their 3 final La Liga outings last season, Imanol Alguacil’s men achieved a 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid and went on to a 4-1 win against Real Valladolid. Their latest game produced a 1-0 win against Osasuna.

Barcelona v Real Sociedad Fixture History

On 21 March 2021, these two nations went toe-to-toe against each other in their most previous meeting, when Barcelona ran away winners with a 1-6 scoreline.

Barcelona enter the match against Real Sociedad with an 8-2-0 record in their previous 10 encounters in La Liga.

Primary goalgetter

With Lionel Messi gone, Antoine Griezmann suddenly becomes Barcelona’s main hope in the attack. Alexander Isak, meanwhile, returns to La Liga very keen to continue the momentum he had built up in his last 6 outings for Real Sociedad. He has been on target 4 times in the last 6 matches.