Real Sociedad vs Almeria predictions and match preview for Tuesday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as La Real target a top four finish.
| Date | Tuesday 23rd May 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 19:30 (CEST) |
| Stadium | Reale Arena |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Real Sociedad vs Almeria Preview
Matchday 36 in LaLiga 2022/23 kicks off on Tuesday night in Donostia with a big game for both Real Sociedad and Almeria. The hosts are closing in on Champions League qualification while the visitors are now most likely just one win away from safety.
It was a fabulous weekend for Real Sociedad fans as their team claimed their first win at Camp Nou since the early 1990’s. Goals from Mikel Merino and Alexander Sorloth sealed all the points and it was a very important result given fellow top four hopefuls Villarreal had claimed victory at Girona earlier in the day.
Real Sociedad remain 5 points clear of the Yellow Submarine as a result and with only 3 games to play, they really should get over the line and secure 4th place from this position. Tough games against Atletico Madrid and Sevilla follow this though so Imanol will be very keen to see his side avoid any slip-ups here. Some rotation is likely to freshen things up and he’ll be forced into at least two changes with Asier Illarramendi and Igor Zubeldia suspended.
As for Almeria, we could also see a few changes from the team that claimed an impressive 3-0 win over Mallorca at the weekend. Their home form has been key all season and looks like it may be enough to keep them in the league, but so has the tendency for other players to step up and take responsibility in the final third when selection issues have arisen.
They lost Umar Sadiq to Real Sociedad very early in the campaign but El Bilal Toure did a good job of filling those boots until he suffered a serious injury. Since then, Luis Suarez has delivered some vital goals while in recent matches, 21 year old Lázaro has emerged as their potential saviour with 5 goals in their last 3 games, including a hat-trick in the weekend victory. Almeria have 39 points now and while anything here would be a massive bonus, their home game against fellow strugglers Real Valladolid on Sunday offers their best shot at securing survival.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Real Sociedad
| INJURED | Merquelanz, Sadiq |
| DOUBTFUL | |
| BANNED | Illarramendi, Zubeldia |
Possible XI: Remiro – Aihen, Pacheco, Le Normand, Gorosabel – Zubimendi, Merino, Silva – Oyarzabal, Sorloth, Kubo (4-3-3)
Coach: Imanol Alguacil
Almeria
| INJURED | Toure, Kaiky, Baptistao |
| DOUBTFUL | Chumi |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Fernando – Akieme, Ely, Babic, Pozo – Robertone, Melero, De La Hoz – Embarba, Luis Suarez, Lazaro (4-3-3)
Coach: Rubi
Score Prediction: Real Sociedad 3-1 Almeria
Almeria look like a team that is really targeting those key home games and it’s possible Rubi will again rest players in this game with an eye on the weekend. They have been poor travellers all season and it’s hard to see their defence keeping things tight against a confident Real Sociedad side who should take a big step towards the Champions League with three points.
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