Real Sociedad v Villarreal Betting Tips: Hosts to kick Yellow Submarine while they’re down

Having won each of their last two fixtures in La Liga, Real Sociedad will be looking to make it three on the bounce when they host an out-of-form Villarreal in Sunday’s early kick-off.

In recent weeks, it appears as though these two have been heading in different directions and, as they currently sit in 5th and 6th, this looks to be the perfect opportunity for Sociedad to put some real daylight between themselves and their opponents here.

Right now, only one of these two clubs look as though they’re at the races and, in front of a home crowd, Sociedad look a good bet to come out on top.

As it generally is year after year, Anoeta has been a happy hunting ground for Sociedad this season. The hosts have lost just two matches on their own patch, winning seven of their other nine. Eusebio Sacristán’s side have generally looked good at home and come into this fixture having won each of their last two. What’s more, they face a Villarreal team who’ve been particularly off-colour of late.

In their current form, it’s very hard to feel upbeat about the chances of the visitors here. They’ve won just one of their last six in the league (against struggling Granada) and looked nothing short of abysmal when slumping to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Roma in the Europa League on Thursday night. Fran Escribá played pretty much a full side in that loss to Roma so it would be no surprise if we saw a less than full-strength Villarreal line up here. Either way, it certainly looks as though now is the time to face The Yellow Submarine.

With the visitors having far less time to prepare for this match, alongside their rather alarming dip in form, everything seems to be in favour of the hosts here. Not only are Sociedad in good form right now, but they’re a facing a Villarreal team who’re floundering somewhat, and who’ve also failed to score in 50% of their away matches this season. Consider this in conjunction with the fact that Sociedad have kept a clean sheet in 36% of their home matches and it’s very hard to fancy anything other than a home win here.

Considering the lacklustre nature of Villarreal’s performances of late (failed to score in three of their last five away), the useful defensive unit of Sociedad should be more than capable of keeping the visitors at bay.

All things considered, against a visiting side who’ve won just one of their last ten in all competitions, Real Sociedad have an excellent chance of propelling themselves further towards their goal of Champions League qualification and are worth backing to do just that.

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