Matchday 29 in the La Liga sees Villarreal vs Real Sociedad take place on 20 March at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Villarreal vs Real Sociedad: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Villarreal
A week ago, Villarreal were made to work extremely hard for a draw away to Alaves (1:1), with the equaliser coming in the 98th minute. As a result, the club have suffered just one defeat in their last five La Liga matches. However, dropped points last Friday saw the team fall behind Atletico Madrid. Villarreal still sit fourth in the standings, but now trail their main rival by two points. It is also worth noting that their scoring streak in the league has reached eight matches. Overall, since the start of the current La Liga season, the club have scored 51 goals – only Real Madrid (60) and Barcelona (77) have managed more.
- Both teams have scored in seven of the last eight La Liga matches involving Villarreal.
- The club’s uncompromising home run in this competition has stretched to nine games (seven wins, two defeats).
- Six of Villarreal’s previous eight matches in the Spanish top flight have gone over the total.
Potential Villarreal Lineup (4-4-2)*
Luiz Junior – Santiago Mourino, Rafa Marin, Pau Navarro, Sergi Cardona – Alfonso Pedraza, Santiago Comesana, Pape Gueye, Tajon Buchanan – Nicolas Pepe, Georges Mikautadze.
Due to injuries, defenders Juan Foyth and Logan Costa will miss out, as will forwards Ayoze Perez and Pau Cabanes.
Real Sociedad
Last weekend, Real Sociedad produced a convincing win over Osasuna (3:1), a direct competitor for a European place. That victory was only their second in the last five La Liga matches, but across the previous 12 rounds Real Sociedad have lost just twice. The Basque side have also been scoring consistently for 13 straight league matches, though defensive errors have meant the club have kept only one clean sheet during that run. The team have climbed to seventh in the table, which is their highest position of the season so far. To break into the top six, they still need to make up three points.
- At least four goals have been scored in five of Real Sociedad’s last six matches in the league.
- The club have conceded in 21 of their previous 22 matches in this competition.
- Both teams have scored in five of the Basque side’s last six away matches in La Liga.
Potential Real Sociedad Lineup (4-5-1)*
Alejandro Remiro – Duje Caleta-Car, Igor Zubeldia, Jon Aramburu, Sergio Gomez – Benat Turrientes, Brais Mendez, Goncalo Guedes, Carlos Soler, Ander Barrenetxea – Mikel Oyarzabal.
Midfielder Benat Turrientes is suspended. Due to fitness issues, midfielders Yangel Herrera and Takefusa Kubo are not ready, while defender Alvaro Odriozola is also unavailable.
Referee
Miguel Angel Ortiz (Spain)
Matches – 15 (La Liga, 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second bookings) – 63;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.2;
Red cards shown – 4;
Average fouls per match – 23;
Penalties – 20%.
Villarreal vs Real Sociedad: Match Prediction
Villarreal are still struggling to rediscover the consistency that once had them going stride for stride with Barcelona and Real Madrid. Across their last 10 La Liga matches, the club have managed only four wins, alongside the same number of defeats. Notably, when the home team do come out on top, they usually edge it by the finest of margins, with a one-goal winning difference. Even at home, Villarreal have won by more than one goal in only two of their last six league games.
Real Sociedad, by contrast, are maintaining decent form and surging towards the European places. The club have lost just two of their previous 12 La Liga matches, and in that spell the visitors dropped points only against the Madrid giants – Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Tellingly, across the last 22 league rounds, the team have suffered just one defeat by a margin of two goals or more. It is also worth highlighting the history of trips to Villarreal: Real Sociedad have avoided defeat in six of their last seven away head-to-head league meetings, with four of those seven games ending in victory.
Prediction: Real Sociedad (+1)
* For each team, the starting lineup listed is from their previous match in this competition.
