Valencia vs Real Sociedad – News and Probable Lineups

Real Sociedad will be looking to bounce back from successive defeats when they continue their La Liga campaign against Valencia at Mestalla on Sunday evening.

Currently, the visitors sit in 12th place in the La Liga standings, having earned seven points from six fixtures, while Valencia finds themselves in 18th, managing just four points in their six games.

Match overview

This season, Valencia has achieved one win, one draw, and four losses from their six La Liga games, positioning them at 18th in the table. Their point tally of four indicates a less than ideal start to the season.

However, Los Che will enter this upcoming match on the back of a win, having recently secured a 1-0 victory against Alaves, with Luis Rioja stepping off the bench to net the decisive goal.

Prior to this, Valencia endured a four-match losing streak against Real Betis, Deportivo La Coruna, Barcelona, and Sevilla before securing all three points in their last outing.

The six-time La Liga champions ended the previous season in ninth place in Spain’s top tier, but they may face challenges in the upcoming 2026-27 season.

In their historical encounters, Valencia holds the upper hand against Real Sociedad, having won 68 out of the total 162 matches, with Los Che and Sociedad sharing 41 draws historically.

The teams’ last clash occurred in May 2026, where Valencia triumphed 4-3, while their previous encounter at Mestalla ended in a 1-1 draw.

Real Sociedad comes into this fixture following a 2-1 loss at home to Bournemouth in the Europa League, coupled with a 3-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in La Liga last weekend, leading to a difficult week for the Basque team.

Pellegrino Matarazzo’s squad has managed two wins, a draw, and three losses from their six La Liga fixtures this season, which places them 12th in the league.

La Real has secured two victories in their last four league games but has suffered just one defeat, yet there is pressure mounting on them for this match following their recent losses.

After finishing the 2025-26 campaign in a disappointing 10th position, Real Sociedad did win last season’s Copa del Rey, granting them qualification for the Europa League.

Team News

At present, Valencia is dealing with a substantial injury list, with Diego Lopez, Mouctar Diakhaby, Umar Sadiq, Cesar Tarrega, Dimitri Foulquier, Jose Copete, and Sergi Canos all ruled out.

Having scored the winning goal against Alaves, Rioja is anticipated to break into the starting lineup, likely occupying a wide position.

Hugo Duro is expected to continue leading the attack for Los Che, while Arnaut Danjuma is set to start in a wide role.

For Real Sociedad, Alvaro Odriozola remains sidelined due to a long-term knee injury, and Igor Zubeldia may miss his third consecutive game due to fitness concerns.

Changes are likely for the squad that took to the pitch against Bournemouth, with Goncalo Guedes, Luka Sucic, Carlos Soler, and Alex Remiro expected to return to the lineup on Sunday.

Mikel Oyarzabal, who played a key role in helping España secure victory in the 2026 World Cup, has yet to find the net in seven appearances across all competitions this season, but he is expected to start in a central role again.

Valencia probable starting XI:

Dimitriexi; Maffeo, Pepelu, De Haas, Gaia; Mayol, Rodriguez; Rioja, Guerra, Danjuma; Hard

Real Sociedad probable starting XI:

Remiro; Aramburu, Beitia, Sarr, Gomez; Herrera, Soler; Barrenetxea, Sucic, Guedes; Oyarzabal

Backing either side with certainty for this fixture on Sunday is quite challenging. In the last seven encounters between these two teams, only one match has ended in a draw, although an entertaining draw is predicted for this weekend.