Last Saturday, Real Sociedad suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat away to Atletico Madrid, a result that significantly complicates their dream of finishing the season with a European qualification. With only three matchdays left in La Liga, the Basques currently sit 12th in the table, four points behind 8th place — the final spot that grants access to the UEFA Europa Conference League. Luckily for Imanol Alguacil and his players, the mathematics still keep the dream alive. But if they want to stay in the race, they must urgently resolve their attacking woes. Oyarzabal and company have failed to score in three consecutive games. Matchday 36 of La Liga offers the Txuri-urdin a chance to bounce back, as they welcome fellow European hopefuls Celta Vigo to the Reale Arena. Unlike the home side, Celta are not chasing from behind — they currently occupy 7th place, just two points clear of Rayo Vallecano, who sit 8th. With three games to go, Claudio Giraldez's side controls its destiny and travels to the Basque Country determined to win, eliminate Real Sociedad from the European race, and tighten their grip on a top-seven finish. Rayo, meanwhile, showed tremendous character in their last league outing, defeating Sevilla 3-2 at home despite playing with ten men for much of the match. As such, we can expect both teams to go all in, delivering an entertaining and high-scoring affair.

Real Sociedad Recent Form and Key Stats

Real Sociedad are coming off a 4-0 thrashing at the Cívitas Metropolitano against Atletico Madrid, the third-best team in the league. Before that, Alguacil’s side had drawn 0-0 in the Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao and lost 1-0 away at Deportivo Alavés.

It's a troubling stretch: in their last five La Liga matches, they’ve recorded three losses and two draws, with only 2 goals scored and 9 conceded. They remain on 43 points — still within reach of 8th place, but time is running out.

Offensively, the Basques are struggling, failing to score in their last three games. With just 32 goals in 35 matches (0.91 per game), they have one of the weakest attacks in La Liga. At home, at the Anoeta Stadium, they've picked up 7 wins, 3 draws, and 7 losses. Their last home victory dates back to March 29 (2-1 vs relegated Real Valladolid). In their last two home matches, they’ve failed to find the net.

Celta Vigo Recent Form and Key Stats

Celta Vigo come into this game after another thrilling 3-2 match — this time securing all three points at home against Sevilla, despite being reduced to 10 men following Marcos Alonso’s first-half red card. That victory lifts them to 49 points, helping defend their 7th-place spot from a pack of direct competitors who also won last weekend.

The Celestes have been productive in front of goal, averaging 1.57 goals scored per game in the league, compared to 1.54 conceded. While they’ve lost their last two away matches — a 3-2 defeat at Barcelona and a 4-3 loss at Real Madrid — they performed admirably in both. Before those setbacks, they notched two away wins: 1-0 vs Valladolid and 2-1 vs Mallorca.

Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo Prediction and Tactical Preview

Real Sociedad are struggling to score, but they may have a golden opportunity to end that drought against a Celta Vigo side that has seen over 2.5 goals in five of their last six matches. In fact, in five of the last seven, Celta both scored and conceded.

Borja Iglesias, with 4 goals in his last 5 appearances, continues to lead the charge for Celta. Even though they’ve lost their last two away games, they scored twice at Barcelona and three times at the Santiago Bernabéu — so scoring on the road doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Head-to-head history also suggests goals: both teams have scored in four of the last six meetings. One exception was the reverse fixture earlier this season, where Celta won 2-0 thanks to a Pablo Duran brace — he’s currently sidelined with injury.

Based on recent trends and stats, the Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo prediction from the BetMines algorithm foresees an open and entertaining match with goals on both sides.

• Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo prediction from the BetMines algorithm predicts that both teams will score at least one goal at 54%
  
  
• Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo prediction from the BetMines algorithm predicts that at least one of the two teams will not score a goal at 46%.

Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo Predicted Lineups

REAL SOCIEDAD (4-5-1): Remiro; Traore, Martin, Elustondo, J Lopez; Kubo, Mendez, Zubimendi, Martin, Gomez; Oyarzabal. Manager: Imanol Alguacil

CELTA VIGO (4-5-1): Guaita; Mingueza, Lago, Dominguez, J Rodriguez; Duran, Moriba, Beltran, Swedberg, Aspas; Iglesias. Manager: Claudio Giraldez