AS Roma vs Real Sociedad – 09/03/2023
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It’s arguably the tie of the round in the Europa League this Thursday evening as Roma take Real Sociedad in the first leg of their round of 16 affair in the Italian capital as both sides sit fourth in their domestic leagues.
Real Sociedad are currently on a bad run of form, however, and they have lost a tight grip on fourth spot as a result and they’ve also seen Atletico Madrid move above them into third.
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Sociedad are still only one point behind Atletico and above Real Betis in fifth by three points too. It sees the club come into this one with a three-game losing run, as Celta Vigo draw with them 1-1, just before a 1-0 defeat to the relegation-threatened Valencia.
At the same time, the Spanish giants drew with another struggling La Liga side, as Cadiz took a point from the Reale Arena.
Their last win came almost a month ago in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Espanyol that saw Takefusa Kubo score after 23 minutes, as Alexander Sorloth scored in the second half before an own goal gave Sociedad a 3-0 lead.
Espanyol rapidly brought two goals back, however, and for all the defensive brilliance of Imanol Alguacil’s side, they have struggled slightly in recent weeks.
Nevertheless, the club has still conceded only 23 goals all season long in La Liga, and they also head into this one having topped their group in the Europa League and finished just above Manchester United.
They did score the same amount of goals as the Premier League side, but having conceded one goal less and having also beaten them at Old Trafford, the La Liga side finished top of Group E to avoid the playoffs.
As for Roma, they had to move through the playoffs after finishing second to another La Liga side, Real Betis. Betis also defeated them in Group C, as Jose Mourinho’s men battled with RB Salzburg in the playoffs.
A 1-0 loss in Austria meant Mourinho’s side had everything to do back in Rome, but Andrea Belotti and Paulo Dybala scored a goal each in a 2-0 win to overturn a 1-0 loss away from home.
Back in La Liga, Roma have had two very contrasting results ever since, as they became the first side to lose to Cremonese in Serie A this campaign, just before a memorable 1-0 win over the in-form Juventus that saw Gianluca Mancini score.
Forebet predicts a draw and under 2.5 goals.
