A KEY BATTLE AT THE REALE ARENA

Match details

Real Sociedad-Sevilla FC

Matchday 27 LALIGA EA Sports

Reale Arena

Sunday 9 March 16:15 CET

History

Hailing from Donostia-San Sebastián in the Basque Country, Real Sociedad were founded in 1909. Winners of two La Liga titles in 1980/81 and 1981/82, they have also won the Copa del Rey on three occasions in 1909, 1987 and 2020. They have played in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League on five occasions, with their best performance coming when they reached the semi-final in 1982-83 before losing to eventual winners Hamburger SV. Historically, Real Sociedad had a policy of only signing Basque players (similar to fellow Basque club Athletic Club), but this changed in 1989 with the signing of Irish striker John Aldridge. More recently, a fourth-place finish in 2022/23 secured Champions League football for the first time in a decade as La Real went on to reach the round of 16.

Standings

After a 6th placed finish last season, Real Sociedad once again find themselves in the hunt for European football this season heading into the game in 9th place on 34 points. At the start of February they went on an impressive run of six wins in seven in all competitions including a 7-3 win on aggregate against Danish side FC Midtjylland in the last 32 in the Europa League, but a difficult set of fixtures since against Real Madrid (0-1), Barcelona (0-4) and Manchester United (1-1) means they head into the game without a win in three.

Last five meetings

23/11/24 Sevilla 0-2 Real Sociedad

7/3/24 Sevilla 3-2 Real Sociedad

26/11/24 Real Sociedad 2-1 Sevilla

4/5/23 Real Sociedad 2-1 Sevilla

9/11/22 Sevilla 1-2 Real Sociedad

Key player: Martín Zubimendi

The heartbeat of the Real Sociedad midfielder Zubimendi has played in 35 games in all competitions this season accumulating over 2,900 minutes of football – the highest of any outfield player. A technically gifted with a precise passing game and exceptional ball control that allows him to help build attacks from the base on midfield both for his club side and the national team with whom he whom UEFA Euro 2024.

Coach: Imanol Alguacil

Imanol Alguacil played as a right-back, making 121 La Liga appearances with Real Sociedad and Villarreal. After retiring in 2003, he began coaching, joining Real Sociedad's youth setup in 2011. Alguacil became the first-team manager in 2018, leading them to a Copa del Rey title in 2021 (Real Sociedad’s first trophy since 1987) and secured Champions League football for the first time in a decade in 2023 – and a fourth consecutive season of European football.

Player links

Of the current squads, neither have a player who has played for the other side.

Adnan Januzaj, who is currently out on loan at Las Palmas, played for Real Sociedad for five seasons between 2017 and 2021, making 166 appearances and winning the Copa del Rey. Going back further, some of the players to have played for both teams during their career include José Luis Martí, André Silva and Jesuli.

Classic meeting

La Liga Matchday 18

8 January 2011

Anoeta

Under the guidance of Gregorio Manzano, we had made an indifferent start to the 2010/11 campaign and heading into the game at the start of January we found ourselves in 10th after picking up just 23 points from 17 games. Real Sociedad meanwhile were one point and one place behind in 11th. In an end-to-end game in San Sebastián Diego Rivas opened the scoring midway through the first half for the home side, only for Frédéric Kanouté to equalise two minutes later. Real Sociedad then restored their lead just before half time, with a cheeky lob from Joseba Llorente that left Palop in goal stranded. However, two goals in two minutes in the second half would complete the turnaround as Luis Fabiano turned the ball in after a goal mouth scramble and Kanouté then got the winner, keeping his composure in a one-on-one.