Barcelona - Real Sociedad: Going for revenge and the solo lead

This Sunday, FC Barcelona hosts Real Sociedad at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium (4:15 PM) in the 26th round of LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25. A match in which Hansi Flick's team will seek to capitalize on Real Madrid's collapse and further assert their dominance at the top of the league.

The white team fell again in La Liga against a strong Betis at Benito Villamarín (2-1). Manuel Pellegrini's side, led by Isco Alarcón, were clearly superior from the first half. With the defeat, the first in five years at the 'verdiblanco' ground, the 'merengues' drop to third place in the standings, behind Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona. The 'colchoneros' won (1-0) against Athletic and are provisional leaders of the championship, awaiting the result of the culés who, if they earn three points against Real, will take first place alone.

The Barça arrives with optimism for this match after their last two victories (1-0) against Rayo Vallecano at home and against UD Las Palmas (0-2) away. Since the start of the season, the 'blaugrana' team has been marked by a good streak, achieving victory in 17 of the 25 matches played so far in La Liga, with 67 goals for and 25 against.

Rotations thinking about the Champions

Hansi Flick will make changes in the starting eleven against Real Sociedad with an eye on the round of 16 Champions clash against Benfica. The blue and garnet team will face a calendar of maximum demand in March, with 5 matches in 15 days. In such a scenario, the German coach will have to manage efforts and give rest to some starters.

There could be changes in all three lines, starting with defense where Pau Cubarsí could rotate and bring in Eric García or Ronald Araujo. In midfield, Marc Casadó would return to the starting eleven in place of Frenkie de Jong, while Gavi would come in for Dani Olmo. Finally, in attack, Raphinha might rest, allowing Fermín López or Ferran Torres to play. The only one who seems certain in attack is Lewandowski, who already rested against Atlético.

Real, for its part, arrives in Barcelona at a low point after losing Kubo, Aguerd, and Sheraldo Becker and with the obligation to avoid excessive wear a week before facing Manchester United.

Barça loses Ansu Fati and Christensen

FC Barcelona will face Real Sociedad this Sunday without Ansu Fati and Andreas Christensen, both ruled out. Ansu has been forced to miss the session due to a fever, according to club sources.

But undoubtedly, the most unexpected news has involved Andreas Christensen, who had recently recovered. The center-back has suffered a relapse of his injury in the soleus of his right leg. The Dane spent almost the entire first half of the season recovering and was able to be included in three matchday squads last January, but did not debut.

A match with a thirst for revenge

The first face-off against Real Sociedad this season was marked by a glaring refereeing error, which cost, at least, a draw at Reale Arena for a Barça team that did not find its best version. That match, played on November 10 in the 13th round, remains in the memory of the 'culé' fan, seeing how a goal from Polish Robert Lewandowski, after a pass-shot from Frenkie de Jong, was not counted due to a misinterpretation from the VAR room, directed by referee Del Cerro Grande.

The play sparked controversy when the decision was made to annul the '9's goal because, according to the VAR interpretation, the tip of Lewandowski's boot was a few millimeters ahead of his marker, defender Nayef Aguerd. The semi-automatic system interpreted that Aguerd's boot was that of the 'blaugrana' scorer, which constituted the "offside" and the subsequent annulment of the goal. The VAR image went viral, igniting social media and becoming one of the memes of the year.

The match continued in an atmosphere where Barcelona felt completely wronged, and in the 33rd minute, Sheraldo Becker's goal gave the Anoeta team a 1-0 lead. The match ended with this result. Now Barça must reaffirm the good moment they are experiencing in each of the competitions they are involved in, La Liga, Champions, and Copa del Rey (despite the 4-4 in the first leg of the semifinals against Atlético de Madrid). Additionally, it is worth highlighting the Supercopa de España won against Real Madrid with a crushing 5-2.

Lamine, 'Lewy', and Raphinha eager to score against the 'txuri urdin'

Lewandowski has made Real Sociedad his 'prey', having scored three goals against them. First, a brace away in his first season, in a match that ended 1-4 in 2022, and then a goal at home in the 1-2 defeat in 2023. After that, 'Lewy' has not been able to score against the Basques in the last three encounters. Meanwhile, Lamine and Raphinha will look to increase their goal tally against the 'txuri urdin', having each sent the ball to the back of the net in the 2-0 victory on May 13, 2024.