Blaugrana are heading into the match on the back of a frustrating 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano last weekend, while Real Sociedad secured a narrow 1-0 win at Cadiz on the same day.
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Real Sociedad will host Barcelona in a La Liga fixture at the Estadio Anoeta on Sunday night. Blaugrana are heading into the match on the back of a frustrating 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano last weekend, while Real Sociedad secured a narrow 1-0 win at Cadiz on the same day. Barcelona had finished second in the La Liga Santander last term, with 73 points, 13 behind champions Real Madrid. Real Sociedad, meanwhile, managed to secure an impressive 6th-place finish and earn qualification for the Europa League.
Ready for our second match of the season ? pic.twitter.com/teemm0KNvK
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 21, 2022
Real Sociedad didn’t have a great pre-season, recording just two wins from their six games, while three of them ended in defeats. However, the White and Blues made a positive start to their new league season, getting the better of Cadiz courtesy of Takefusa Kubo’s lone strike in the 24th minute. Imanol Alguacl’s side would be aiming to challenge for a top-four finish this time around. Summer-signings Robert Navarro, Kubo, Brais Mendez, Mohamed Ali-Cho, Roberto Lopez, Peter Pokorny and Alex Sola are certainly going to bolster the squad.
Barcelona, on the other hand, despite going through financial constraints managed to make some big signings this summer. Jules Kounde, Robert Lewandowski, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Raphinha have arrived at the club on big wages. Xavi’s side had an impressive pre-season, winning five of their seven friendlies, while two of them ended in draws. However, in their first competitive match of the new campaign, Blaugrana couldn’t find the back of the net and ended the match with a man-less as captain Sergio Busquets was sent-off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity in the injury time.
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Real Sociedad attacker Mikel Oyarzabal is sidelined with a cruciate ligament injury, while Diego Rico is unavailable because of a hamstring issue. Isak and Kubo are likely to be the two front-men with Silva operating behind them. Munoz is expected to sit in front of the back-four. As for Barcelona, in the absence of Busquets, Kessie is likely to make his first competitive start for the club. Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Raphinha could form the front-three.
Real Sociedad probable starting lineup: Remiro, Elustondo, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Munoz, Zubimendi, Mendez, Merino, Silva, Isak, Kubo
Barcelona probable starting lineup: Ter Stegen, Roberto, Christensen, Araujo, Alba, De Jong, Kessie, Pedri, Raphinha, Lewandowski, Fati
The La Liga fixture between Real Sociedad and Barcelona will take place at Estadio Anoeta on Monday at 1:30 am IST.
| Real Sociedad vs Barcelona | Key details |
| Date | August 21 (Spain) |
| Venue | Estadio Anoeta |
| Kickoff time in Spain | 10:00 pm (Sunday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 1:30 am (Monday) |
The live coverage of the match is available on Sports18 network, Voot Select and MTV India.
