We start the fifth round in La Liga with the meeting between Huesca and Real Sociedad in El Alcoraz. Huesca has a bit to do after her home defeat last week, but in Real Sociedad she is a serious candidate for European football.
Huesca:
Huesca had undoubtedly re-imagined her very first home game ever in La Liga last weekend. After some great outdoor performances, the redblue for a sold-out Alcoraz did not work out well. The 0-1 loss against fellow PhD student Rayo Vallecano was therefore entirely justified.
Four points out of four matches is not bad in itself, but trainer Leo Franco seems to be switching from a 4-4-2 formation to a sort of 4-2-3-1 system. In this way, star player Gonzalo Melero, who starts working at Villarreal next season, could play a more important role. Furthermore, both Alex Gallar and Cucho Hernandez probably return in the basic eleven. For my inexplicable reasons, Franco kept them out of the ground against Rayo Vallecano, despite the fact that they are jointly responsible for two thirds of the total goals of the club from Aragon.
Real Sociedad:
At first glance, it seems as if Real Sociedad had a moderate start to the season. Nevertheless, the appointment of Asier Garitano seems to have been a smart move. Last weekend, the Basques were unlucky that they were left empty-handed against FC Barcelona (1-2 defeat), because in terms of field games they had at least earned a draw.
Since the arrival of Garitano, Real Sociedad is in any case a lot less naïve. Under predecessor Eusebio, the blue whites always played very offensively, regardless of the opponent. There is no shortage of spectacle, but La Real regularly fell into the knife. Garitano puts the accent more on the rear, as he did in Leganes in previous years. The balance between attack and defense is now a lot better, so Real Sociedad must be seen as a major candidate for European football. In addition, attacker Willian Jose is almost fit again. He is by far the best player in the San Sebastian club and, thanks to his strong game of last season, he even made his debut with the national team of Brazil.
PREDICTION: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.87
