🏏 Sun, 20 Sep 2026 21:00 CEST
Valencia
vs
Real Sociedad
4-4-2 vs 4-4-2
Substitutes
Substitutes
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- Valencia sit 19th in the relegation places on four points from six matches, with just two goals scored and ten conceded for a goal difference of minus eight. Real Sociedad are 15th on seven points and minus five. Only three points separate them, and with Barcelona setting the pace on 21 points from seven games, both sides need to start climbing now.
- Valencia's attacking record is stark: two goals in six league games. Both home outings ended in blank defeats, 0-1 to Real Betis on matchday one and 0-5 to Barcelona on matchday four. Their sole victory came away at Alaves in round six, a 1-0 that stands as the only positive result of their campaign so far.
- Real Sociedad have been every bit as erratic. They were beaten 3-0 at home by Atletico Madrid in round five and then held to a goalless draw by Celta Vigo in round six, two home games without scoring. Their best work came on the road, a 3-2 win at Elche in round four that hinted at the attacking quality still in the squad.
- Carlos Soler returns to the club where he made his name. The Spanish midfielder spent years as a leading figure at Valencia before moving to Paris Saint-Germain and taking in a loan spell at West Ham. He is Sociedad's set-piece taker and has a long-standing habit of arriving late in the penalty area.
- Goncalo Guedes is the second former Valencia man in the visiting XI. The Portugal forward went from Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain, established himself at Valencia, then moved on to Wolverhampton Wanderers with a loan at Villarreal in between. Right-footed but operating from the left, his cut-ins are a direct threat to his old club's back four.
- Takefusa Kubo begins on the bench for Sociedad. The 25-year-old left-footed right winger came through FC Tokyo before joining Real Madrid and spending loan seasons at Mallorca, Villarreal and Getafe. If he is introduced, his close control and final ball will be aimed at Valencia captain and left-back Jose Gaya, 31.
- This is a mirrored 4-4-2 and one flank duel stands out. Valencia right-back Pablo Maffeo, a Manchester City academy product whose relentless man-marking makes up for his 172cm frame, lines up against Sergio Gomez, the left-back who passed through Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Anderlecht and City and delivers with a precise left foot.
- The two front pairings could hardly be more different. Valencia field Hugo Duro, a Getafe youth product who came via Real Madrid and struck 13 goals in 2023-24, alongside Javi Guerra, the 187cm academy midfielder pushed up into an advanced role. Sociedad answer with captain Mikel Oyarzabal, scorer of the winning goal in the Euro 2024 final, and Croatia's Luka Sucic, developed at RB Salzburg.
- Both goalkeepers carry plenty of mileage. Stole Dimitrievski, the 32-year-old North Macedonia number one formerly of Rayo Vallecano and Granada, faces Alex Remiro, the 192cm Euro 2024 winner with more than 300 appearances behind him. With both defences already into double figures for goals conceded, the shot-stopping may settle it.
- The benches offer genuine game-changers. Valencia can call on Harvey Elliott, on loan from Liverpool, a left-footed creator who set the Premier League's youngest-appearance record while at Fulham, and 18-year-old David Otorbi, the club's youngest ever debutant at 16. Sociedad hold back Orri Oskarsson, the Iceland captain signed from Copenhagen for a club-record 20 million euros.