La Liga: Sociedad and Bilbao Collide Anew for the Basque Derby

Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao

Regardless of where they stand in La Liga standings, the Basque Derby has always been a game that football aficionados look forward to.

Inter-city rivals Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao will duel for points and bragging rights at San Sebastian this weekend to add another chapter to their historic rivalry.

Real Sociedad have won seven games, drawn three times, and lost only once en route to 24 points – which is enough for the top spot at the table. On the other hand, Athletic Bilbao have four wins, five draws, and one loss for 17 points – good for eighth.

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Neither side would want to lose this game in front of a sold out crowd of course. And given their recent forms, ceding any sort of ground will be out of the question.

As we look forward to another exciting edition of the Basque Derby, SBOTOP takes a look into these two clubs to see how they’ll stack up via this match preview.

Talking Points

Real Sociedad facing injury doubts again

Barcelona’s firing of Ronald Koeman has been such a hot topic in La Liga to the point that Real Sociedad’s rise was overlooked.

The fact that Real Sociedad have secured positive La Liga 2021 results despite missing key men to injuries is quite impressive.

They are actually on a tug-of-war with Real Madrid, but their 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo last Thursday have put them at the summit and they can stay there if Los Blancos won’t be able to secure points against Elche.

Heading into this contest, Imanol Alguacil is hopeful that he’ll have more options for this high-profile clash.

Imanol Alguacil coaches Real Sociedad from the sidelines during match against Atletico Madrid at Wanda Metropolitano

We would be surprised if Mikel Oyarzabal is going to be available since he’s dealing with a recurring muscular problem, while Carlos Fernandez, Nacho Monreal, Jon Guridi, Diego Rico are all still on the mend.

With the Spanish winger doubtful to play, Alguacil will lean on their front three of Portu, Alexander Isak, and Adnan Januzaj, while David Silva and Mikel Merino will serve as two of their creative outlets.

Real Sociedad’s main objective heading into this season was to return to the Champions League. But if there’s a chance for them to take home the La Liga championship along the way, they’ll take it without hesitation.

Athletic Bilbao pushing for an European berth

When Marcelino Garcia Toral replaced Gaizka Garitano last January, a sense of optimism followed for Athletic Bilbao.

Los Leones have made an encouraging start to this season under the former Elche midfielder as they’ve only lost once while boasting the best defence in the league with only six goals conceded.

Athletic Bilbao are enjoying a four-game unbeaten run into this contest and they certainly believe that they’re good enough to contend for an European place this term.

Leading the way for them is Inaki Williams, who is their top scoring threat with three goals and one assist. He’ll be joined by Iker Munlain, Raul Garcia, and Inigo Martinez up front to try and topple their derby counterparts.

History

This Sunday marks the 149th La Liga meeting between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao.

Athletic Bilbao hold the advantage in the La Liga head-to-heads with 59 wins, while Real Sociedad have won in 51 along with 38 draws.

La Real have won their five of their last seven league matches against Los Leones. They are also undefeated in their last four home matches vs. Bilbao (W3, D1).

Los Leones’ last road win to La Real in Spanish top-flight dates back to a 2-0 success in March 2017.

Last April, these two sides met in the 2020 Copa del Rey final which was earlier postponed due to the pandemic. Mikel Oyarzabal scored the marginal goal to give La Real their first silverware since 1987.

Betting Tip

	Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao	Real Sociedad Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 1.85
	November 1, 04:00 (GMT+8)

The La Liga 2021 odds have Real Sociedad as the winners for this fixture. However, we expect this to be a cagey affair.

Real Sociedad are pegged at 2.16 to win, while an Athletic Bilbao victory and a draw are both priced at 3.30 in the 1X2 market.

La Real have been excellent this term and it remains to be seen on whether they can maintain their fine form, but Los Leones have proven to be a tough nut to crack so far this season.

While this game can go either way especially in an intense rivalry like the Basque Derby, in the end we feel that Real Sociedad should have enough to take all the three points in what will be a hard-fought contest.