Athletic Bilbao take on the visitors Real Sociedad in the round 22 match of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Sunday, February 1st at Estadio San Mamés (Bilbao).
Athletic are having a rather mediocre season. The Basques are once again playing under Valverde. The experienced coach has been successful here, and during this spell he managed to win the club’s first cup in 40 years, reach the Europa League semifinals, and finish fourth in the previous La Liga campaign. After returning to the Champions League in this way, the Bilbao side failed there and did not manage to reach the playoffs. In the domestic cup there have been no issues so far, but the only opponent was modest Cultural Leonesa. At the same time, there was a humiliating 0–5 defeat to Barcelona in the Super Cup, and in La Liga, after a good start, there have been far too many slip-ups. In recent rounds they even lost to far-from-top Mallorca and Sevilla. Overall results show that Athletic struggle to maintain consistency, especially against teams they are expected to beat. Their recent form suggests declining confidence and increasing difficulty in controlling matches over a full ninety minutes.
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Real Sociedad also worked productively with their former coach Alguacil, who won the cup (including a final victory over the Basques) and led the team into the Champions League playoffs. However, after two increasingly poor La Liga seasons that ended with an 11th-place finish last spring, the club decided to part ways with Imanol. His successor, Sergio Francisco, lasted only half a year. Due to disappointing results, he was replaced around Christmas by Matarazzo, and that move quickly paid off. The new coach started with a draw against Atletico, then beat Getafe in the league and eliminated Osasuna on penalties in the cup. The biggest sensation followed with a victory over Barcelona. After that, a 3–1 win over Celta caused no surprise, nor did the fact that the new coach was immediately named La Liga Coach of the Month in January. Recent performances indicate that Real Sociedad are clearly on the rise, showing better balance and sharper execution. Their results against strong opponents underline growing momentum and renewed belief under the new management.
In 2024 the Basques took the maximum from two head-to-head meetings. But in the following year, the club from San Sebastián performed better and collected four points out of six. It is hard to believe the hosts will suddenly wake up. Given their current form, the safer option is that the visitors will not lose.
Prediction for the match: Real Sociedad not to lose (X2).
