Important Facts
- Real Sociedad is in 12th place with 21 points, within reach of Rayo Vallecano and Getafe; a good week could turn things around, but there is little room for error.
- Barcelona travel as league leaders with 49 points and a four-point lead; five league wins in a row underline their current stability in the title race.
- Sociedad have scored in their last five competitive games, but have also conceded in each of those games; this pattern explains their shaky control and often chaotic second halves.
- Herrera is missing for Sociedad (ankle) and must be replaced in the center; for Barça, Christensen (torn ligament) and Gavi (arthroscopy) reduce the options for control.
- In a direct comparison, there have been no draws in five league matches, with Barcelona winning four; in San Sebastián, the games have always been decided by narrow 1-0 victories with a more cautious rhythm.
- The odds support Barça’s role as favorites (win around 1.6), while “Both teams to score: Yes” is underpinned by 1.5 due to Sociedad’s scoring streak while conceding goals.
Real Sociedad hosting the league leaders at their own stadium feels like a stress test for the Matarazzo effect, especially as there is little room for error in the league. On Sunday, January 18, at 8:00 p.m., Hansi Flick’s FC Barcelona will be the visitors to the Reale Arena on matchday 20. Sociedad is in 12th place in the table with 21 points, one point behind Rayo Vallecano and level on points with Getafe. Barcelona travels to the game as league leaders with 49 points, four points ahead of Real Madrid. Barcelona won the first leg 2-1 on September 28 and has won four of the last five La Liga duels, with no draws and mostly by narrow margins. Flick’s team comes into the game on the back of five league wins in a row, exactly the kind of run that a league leader normally puts in. Sociedad, on the other hand, has won only one of its last five league games, a record that falls short of pre-season expectations. Added to that is the strain of the cup. Sociedad needed extra time and penalties to knock out Osasuna in the Copa del Rey, while Barcelona advanced 2-0 at Racing Santander, with Cancelo now back in the squad. So it could be a game of legs as much as tactics, especially with Herrera missing and Christensen and Gavi unavailable.
- Venue: Reale Arena, San Sebastian
- Date and time: January 18, 2026, 9:00 p.m.
- Competition: La Liga (matchday 20)
The market sees Barcelona as the clear favorite (odds of 1.6): The run of five games plus Flick’s 2-0 win in the Copa at Racing with Torres and Yamal continues to support the tip “Barcelona wins.” Nevertheless, Real Sociedad under Matarazzo has found answers late in the game, such as Aramburu in Getafe, and they score even when they concede at the back.
Real Sociedad form & record check
Real Sociedad arrive at this point in a slightly uncomfortable position in the table, in 12th place with 21 points, with little room for error. They are only 1 point behind Rayo Vallecano and level on points with Getafe, so a good week could quickly turn the mood around. Nevertheless, for a team with European ambitions, this is only mediocre, even if the new cycle under Matarazzo is slowly showing some bite. Recent games have been a mixture of resilience and familiar weaknesses. The 2-1 league win at Getafe, decided late after conceding a goal in the 90th minute, was a fitting reminder of their character, with Aramburu finishing off a Kubo corner. A 1-1 draw against Atlético Madrid and a 1-1 draw at Levante felt like missed opportunities, control without enough punch. In the cup, they beat Eldense 2-1, then held Osasuna to a 2-2 draw and came back from 2-0 down to win 4-3 on penalties. A clear pattern has emerged in recent games in all competitions, with tense first halves and much more chaotic seconds. They have scored in each of their last five games, but have also conceded in each, keeping games on a knife edge and exposing lapses after the break time and again.
Marrero’s heroics in the shootout and Zubeldia’s late equalizer against Osasuna showed resilience, but Herrera’s injury and the fluctuating form of pillars such as Remiro, Kubo, and Brais leave the ceiling open.
Real Sociedad are likely to start in a 4-4-2 under Matarazzo, with Remiro behind Aramburu, Zubeldia, Caleta-Car, and Gómez. In midfield, Kubo is expected on the right and Barrenetxea on the left, while Gorrotxategi and Soler form the central duo. Up front, the prediction is that Sucic will offer runs in behind, while Oyarzabal will act as the link-up player. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but this basic formation fits with his recent preference for a compact block. With Herrera out with a calf problem, Gorrotxategi could take over the ball-winning duties in the double six, while Soler is more likely to be there to serve the wingers early on. The plan is likely to be based on a medium to deep block, then switching quickly via Kubo or Barrenetxea, provided the winger is fully fit again after his recent knock. Guedes or Óskarsson look like the most important options for changing the tempo.
Barcelona Form & Record Check
Barcelona come to Donostia as La Liga leaders, with 49 points, four ahead of Real Madrid, and their form in the league has been flawless in the last five rounds. Flick’s team doesn’t always come out firing from the kickoff, but they consistently find solutions, usually after the break. This patience has turned tight games into controlled victories, and it now seems more like a habit than a coincidence. Across competitions, recent performances have shown both their quality and occasional sloppiness. In the Copa del Rey, they beat Racing Santander 2-0, but it took a late goal from Yamal to decide a tie that looked uncomfortably open on the counterattack. In Saudi Arabia, they swept Athletic Club aside 5-0, then narrowly beat Real Madrid 3-2, strong going forward but a tad vulnerable on the counter. The away wins in La Liga at Villarreal 2-0 and Espanyol 2-0 were matter-of-fact affairs, with clean sheets based on Cubarsí and Eric García identifying threats early. Cancelos arrival opens up yet another way to break lines, but the injuries to Christensen and Gavi reduce the margin for error. Barcelona have scored in the second half in every recent game, but have often needed time to get into their rhythm, a pattern that Sociedad will look to punish.
Flick is likely to stick with his usual 4-3-3, with García once again the most likely choice in goal as ter Stegen’s minutes appear limited. The back four in this prediction consists of Koundé, Cubarsí, and Balde, with Araujo slotting in if he is fully fit. In front of them, de Jong and Pedri are expected to dictate the pace, with Olmo considered a candidate to complete the midfield. Up front, Yamal and Raphinha are expected to provide width to the right and left of Lewandowski, with quick combinations the obvious way to break down a deep block. Christensen is still out with a torn ligament, and Gavi is sidelined after arthroscopic surgery, so Casadó or López could be called upon to provide control from the bench. Cancelo’s arrival also gives Flick the option of consistently pushing a full-back into the final third.
Real Sociedad – Barcelona Head-to-head & Statistics
In the last five league matches, Barcelona has won four times, Real Sociedad once, and there have been no draws.
The most recent game was in September 2025, with Barcelona winning 2-1 against Sociedad, following a 4-0 win in March 2025. Sociedad’s only victory came in 2024, with a 1-0 win at home. The other results were Barcelona winning 2-0 in 2024 and 1-0 in 2023. In total, Barcelona scored nine times and conceded two goals. The venue played a role. Barcelona won all three games in Barcelona, scoring eight goals and conceding only one, including the 4-0 win in March 2025. In San Sebastián, the margins were narrow, with a 1-0 win for Sociedad in 2024 and a 1-0 win for Barcelona in 2023. Interestingly, every visit there ended with exactly one decisive goal. That suggests a more cautious rhythm at this venue. The goal tally was mostly well controlled. Four of the five games remained under 3.5 total goals, and there has been a run of three games under 2.5 in the most recent series. The first halves also often started quietly, with three consecutive games under 1.5 at the break. The second halves mirrored that, with three in a row under 1.5. No game in this series ended in a draw. Late in the game, it often tilted in Barcelona’s favor. In four of the five games, Sociedad conceded a goal after the break, while Barcelona won the second half four times, a clear indication of how they control the tempo and space. Sociedad did not score a single goal in the second half in this sample, so any plan based on a comeback seemed rather shaky. It could therefore be crucial to stay in the game until the break.
