La Liga | Gameweek 25

Feb 23, 2025 at 8pm UK

Reale Arena

Real Sociedad vs Leganes

Match preview

Real Sociedad booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday night with a 5-2 home win over FC Midtjylland, which set up a 7-3 aggregate victory for the La Liga club in the knockout stage.

The Basque side will face Manchester United in the knockout stages of the competition, with the first leg taking place on 6 March, while they are also in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, where they will face Real Madrid in the first leg next week.

Real Sociedad also host Barcelona in La Liga on 1 March, making it an incredibly busy time of year for Imanol Alguacil's side, who have been largely underwhelming in the Spanish top flight this season.

Indeed, a record of nine wins, four draws and 11 defeats from 24 games has earned them 31 points, which is only good enough for 11th place in the table, but they are just four points behind sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano in the race for Europe.

La Real have struggled to play their best football at home this season, taking just 17 points from 12 games, while Leganes have just one away win in La Liga this term.

Leganes go into Sunday's game off the back of a 3-3 draw with Alaves, in which Dani Raba scored twice from the penalty spot to put Borja Jimenez's side 1-0 up and then 2-1 up, but they ultimately needed a late goal from Munir El Haddadi to secure a share of the spoils.

El Lega are the reigning Segunda Division champions and any finish above 18th would be considered a success for them this season, and by that measure their campaign so far has been a strong one.

Indeed, a record of five wins, nine draws and 10 defeats has yielded 24 points from 24 games, and while they currently sit in 16th place, they are just one point above the relegation zone.

Leganes have won just one away league game this term, but they have shared the points on seven of those trips in 2024-25, suffering just four defeats - just one more than high-flying Villarreal.

Real Sociedad recorded a 3-0 victory when the two sides met in the reverse fixture earlier this season, but the last time the two sides locked horns at the Basque side's home ground in November 2019, it ended 1-1.

Recent Performance

Real Sociedad La Liga form:WLLLWL

Real Sociedad form (all competitions):LWWWLW

Leganes La Liga form:DWDLLD

Leganes form (all competitions):WDLLLD

Team News

Real Sociedad will be without the services of two players through suspension on Sunday, with Sheraldo Becker and Igor Zubeldia banned for the red cards they received against Real Betis last time out.

Hamari Traore remains a long-term absentee with a serious knee injury, while Urko Gonzalez and Jon Pacheco are also fitness doubts.

Coach Alguacil is likely to recall Martin Zubimendi to the starting line-up this weekend, while Takefusa Kubo could also be in line for a wide berth, with Mikel Oyarzabal back in the middle for the Basque side.

For Leganes, Enric Franquesa will again be sidelined with a long-term knee injury, but Yvan Neyou is back in contention after serving a suspension in the last match against Alaves.

However, the visitors will be without Munir, who was sent off in the closing stages of the 3-3 draw with Alaves just six minutes after scoring.

Raba, fresh from his brace against Alaves, will start on the right flank, while Juan Cruz and Diego Garcia are also likely to feature in the final third.

Possible starting lineup

Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:

Remiro; Aramburu, Elustondo, Aguerd, Munoz; Sucic, Zubimendi, Mendez; Kubo, Oyarzabal, Barrenetxea

Leganes possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; Rosier, Gonzalez, Nastasic, J Hernandez; Neyou, Cisse; Raba, Brasanac, Cruz; D Garcia