La Liga
Real Betis vs Real Sociedad kicks off at 20:00 [GMT+1] on Friday, August 21, at the Estadio de La Cartuja. Betis make their return to La Liga action following a fifth-placed finish, which guaranteed European qualification last term. A friendly match with Inter Milan where they suffered a 1-0 defeat marked the end of their pre-season preparations. Manuel Pellegrini is now looking to get off with a flying start as he prepares his side for an opening home match against Sociedad five days later. The most recent clash between both sides went Real Sociedad's way, with the Basque side claiming a 3-2 victory over Betis. That result continued what has historically been a closely fought fixture, with very little separating the clubs across their previous 35 meetings. Real Sociedad hold a narrow advantage in the head-to-head record, having collected 13 victories compared with 11 for Real Betis. The remaining 11 encounters have finished level, meaning almost a third of their meetings have ended without a winner. Betis will therefore be looking to close that gap while also responding to defeat in the previous matchup. A 4—2—3—1 formation with Cucho Hernández in attack is expected against Sociedad.
Real Sociedad also suffered defeat in their final preseason outing, where they lost 3-1 to Chelsea. This term, Pellegrino Matarazzo will be keen to guide higher up the table, having finished in 10th place last season. However, for the visitors, their overall away form is rated as average, leaving room for Betis to believe they can make home advantage count. Historically, matches between these teams have produced a reasonable amount of attacking action. Their previous encounters have averaged 2.71 goals per game, suggesting that the fixture has rarely been dominated entirely by defensive football. However, both teams have scored in only 40% of their previous meetings. That statistic indicates that despite the relatively healthy overall goal average, there have also been numerous occasions when one of the two sides has failed to find the net. The broader head-to-head numbers reinforce how competitive this matchup has been. Real Sociedad have won approximately 37% of the previous 35 encounters, compared with around 31% for Betis, while another 31% have ended in draws. There is therefore no overwhelming historical dominance for either team; nevertheless, the visitors will be hoping to claim an opening-day victory when they appear with a 4—2—3—1 setup. Orri Óskarsson is expected to lead the charge. Gonçalo Guedes is unavailable, while Mikel Oyarzabal is ready but short of minutes.