After breaking the hearts of Barcelona and shattering every little hope they had of making a comeback in the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid will now try to finish the job of being the champions of the 2023/2024 Spanish League with a game away at stubborn Sociedad.
With memories of a victory over Real Madrid at their Reale Arena fading after a 2-1 defeat by the Los Blancos at the Bernabeu this season, and a UEFA Champions League and Europa spot still achievable with 6 games to go, Sociedad will be hoping to get something out of this game.
MSport has provided some interesting odds on the huge La Liga game happening on Friday night to give Real Madrid enough time to prepare for their UEFA Champions League semi-final first-leg game against German giants Bayern Munich.
1. Market Option: Goals > Specific Market: Anytime goal scorer > Option: Junior Vinicius to Score (Odd: 3.10) Booking Code: B2PHBKT
While Jude Bellingham steals the headlines in Real Madrid games this season and did so again in their 3-2 El Clasico win last Sunday, Vinicius Jr is and has always been a key cog in Real Madrid’s attacking machine this season scoring against Barcelona last Sunday too.
Against Real Sociedad on Sunday, with Jude Bellingham set to miss the game due to a slight sickness, it is expected that the Brazilian winger will be the player to do the scoring for Real Madrid, having scored away against them in 2021 when the two met that season.
2. Market Option: Goals > Specific Market: Anytime goal scorer > Option: Barrenetxea, Ander to Score (Odd: 5.00) Booking Code: B2PHGK7
Real Sociedad have scored at least one goal in all their last 5 games in Laliga games scoring 4 goals, 2 goals each, in their two home games against Cadiz and Almeria. That, coupled with the fact that they beat Real Madrid 2-0 in their game at home in the league makes us feel the home side could well get a goal today.
The player that most likely comes to mind to get a goal for Real Sociedad is their 22-year-old left winger, Ander Barrenetxea.
Not only did he score for Imanol Alguacil’s men in their last 1-1 draw versus Getafe but he also got the consolation goal for Sociedad in their 2-1 loss to Real this season and also scored the 2nd goal against Madrid in Sociedad’s 2-0 win over them at home last season.
3. Market Option: Goals > Specific Market: Anytime goal scorer > Option: Kubo Takefusa to Score (Odd: 4.10) and Specials (Market) > 1×2&GG/NG > Draw and Yes (Odd: 4.40)
Total Odds: 8.50 Booking Code: B2PK23E
Real Sociedad have played out two separate draws, a 2-2 and a 1-1, against Almeria and Getafe each, with the first at home and the second away, while Real Madrid have played out just a single draw in their last 5 games, the 3-3 against Man City in the Champions League.
That coupled with the fact that there have been 3 draws in the last 7 meetings between these two La Liga sides, makes us think a draw with goals is possible in this game with a former Madrid player, Kubo, scoring for the home side because of how Ancelotti’s team concedes against their former players when they meet.
You can check out the many other market options for this Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid game on MSport here.
Unai Emery and Villa team will look to hurt his former team, Arsenal’s English Premier League charge when they visit the Emirates for what will be their second league meeting with Arteta’s side this season after their 1-0 victory over the Gunners in December.
Arsenal will be sure to try to prevent Aston Villa from doing the league double over them on Sunday and by extension ruining their EPL title charge which has seen them climb top of the league table thanks to their superior goal difference over Liverpool also on 71 pts.
The Gunners are Firing on all Fronts
Mikel Arteta’s team are firing on all fronts at the moment and seem to be in their best form but then again they have hardly had a bad run of form. The Gunners are on an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions currently including draws with City and Bayern.
In the English Premier League, Arsenal’s unbeaten run currently stands at eleven games and anything aside a defeat against Villa will extend that to twelve games cementing their status as the most in-form side in the Premier League at the moment and league leaders.
Away from the English top division, the Gunners are in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League and have gotten through the first leg still with their chances of making the semi-finals in their hands after a 2-2 draw with Bayern in the first leg in England.
So it is not an exaggeration to say Arsenal are firing on all fronts, however, against one of the few teams that have taken all 3 points away from the Gunners in the league this season, the Gunners might be forced to dig very deep to not drop points.
Unai Emery & his Villa have Hurt the big Boys this Season
[Image of Villa players celebrating goal]
Unai Emery’s side, recently replaced by Tottenham at 4th and the final UEFA Champions League place on the English Premier League table, have been anything short of unbelievable this season surpassing the expectations of everyone.
One of the ways Villa, led by the firing of Ollie Watkins, have done that is by somehow coming up with huge results against the top six teams in the league having taken points away from many of the big boys in the league.
Aston Villa have beaten all of Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham this season and bar a recent dip in form looked poised to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
With a goal advantage over Lille in the UEFA Europa League secured ahead of the return game next week, Unai Emery’s side will be hoping their trip to the Emirates this Sunday yields more than a point as they look to get back 4th position from Spurs, who is also on 60 points with a game in hand.
Match Stats
Arsenal are ranked 1st in goals scored per match (2.4 goals) in the EPL this season while Aston Villa are ranked 4th in goals scored per match (2.1 goals).
Arsenal have kept the most clean sheets in the competition (14) while Aston Villa have scored 9 goals in their last 5 matches in all competitions,
Arsenal have seen over 2.5 goals in their last 13 home meetings with Aston Villa in all competitions while Aston Villa are scoring an average of 2.02 goals in their all competitions games.
You can check out the Arsenal vs Aston Villa EPL game on MSport here.