Real Sociedad-Almeria is a match of the thirty-sixth day of La Liga and is played Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.: formations, predictions, TV and streaming.
Real Sociedad’s fourth-place finish is no longer safe, pressed by a Villarreal side that, with four wins in the last five days, has returned to give the Basques a scare. The pressure on Saturday could have played a nasty trick on Imanol Alguacil’s men, who took the field a few hours after the match between Girona and the Yellow Submarine and ended with a victory for Setien’s team. Real Sociedad’s response, however, was not long in coming, with the Txuri-urdin spoiling the party for Barcelona.
David Silva and his teammates took advantage of a Barça now devoid of any motivation after seven days earlier it had become Spanish champion four rounds ahead. First Merino and then Sorloth with their goals helped write an important page of this La Liga, as the Blaugrana had yet to lose a game at Camp Nou. Three fundamental points then for Real Sociedad, which in this way keeps intact the five-length gap that separates it from Villarreal when there are three days left to the end of the championship. With a win (or at most two) the Basque outfit could close the gap, returning to qualification for the Champions League after 10 years. Real has been unbeaten for exactly one month, and in Catalonia came their sixth consecutive useful result, with the last defeat dating back to last April 15.
On the other side we have an Almeria side that will face the distant trip to San Sebastian with the knowledge that it is now almost at the end of the road. The white-and-reds are confirming that they are very tough at home and on Saturday they made a meal of Mallorca, overwhelmed 3-0 thanks to a hat-trick by a resounding Lazaro. The Andalusians are one step away from salvation (+4 from third-last place) although they cannot relax yet.
Lazaro
The Prediction
Real Sociedad will most likely take the decisive step toward qualifying for the next Champions League, a goal it has not cut since 2013. A victory for the Basque team is conceivable against an Almeria side that has the second worst away performance in the tournament, with only seven points scored in 17 games played away from home. The total goals could be at least three on the night in San Sebastian.
The probable lineups of Real Sociedad-Almeria
- REAL SOCIEDAD (4-2-3-1): Remiro; Gorosabel, Le Normand, Pacheco, Aihen; Merino, Zubimendi; David Silva, Oyarzabal, Kubo; Sorloth.
- ALMERIA (4-2-3-1): Martínez; Pozo, Babic, Rodrigo Ely, Álex Centelles; Melero, Samú Costa; Embarba, Robertone, Baptistao; Luis Suárez.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
