Real Sociedad vs Osasuna Prediction, H2H Stats & Statistical Bets 6 February 2025

🔊 Will the "reds" manage to repeat the positive outcome of their recent encounter with the "royals"? This coming Thursday, the "Reale Arena" in San Sebastian will host the clash between Real Sociedad and Osasuna in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. Both teams have reached this stage of the tournament with some difficulty, so neither wants to concede just steps away from the final match. Bookmakers predict success for the "blue and whites," offering the following odds: home win - 1.72, away victory - 5.3.

📊 H2H

The teams have faced each other twice this season in La Liga. Interestingly, on both occasions, the team from Pamplona emerged victorious (2:0, 2:1). Last weekend, Ante Budimir's brace took the "blue and whites" by surprise, who could only respond with a goal from Orri Oskarsson.

🔵 REAL SOCIEDAD

Real Sociedad is strikingly unable to capitalize on their playing advantage and control the course of matches. Imanol Alguacil regularly plays it safe with a pragmatic 4-1-4-1 formation. However, even with a "ball-winner" and four midfielders, they cannot maintain constant compactness in their lines. The team from San Sebastian is heavily dependent on the form of Martin Zubimendi, which has been quite unstable this season. The 26-year-old defensive midfielder is a key figure in the midfield. His duties include immediate ball recovery when it appears on the "royals'" half and a quick first pass when launching their own attacks. It seems that Imanol Alguacil critically lacks a prolific striker to effectively finish chances. The top scorer remains Mikel Oyarzabal, with only 4 goals in La Liga. On their way to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, Sociedad knocked out Xove (5:0), Conquense (1:0 in extra time), Ponferradina (2:0), and Rayo Vallecano (3:1). Álvaro Odriozola and Hamari Traoré remain in the club's infirmary.

🔴 OSASUNA

In the Copa del Rey round of 16, Osasuna sensationally eliminated the defending champions - Athletic (3:2). Vicente Moreno "parked the bus," which puzzled the "Basques." The classic 4-4-2 formation allowed the "reds" to employ straightforward football, freeing them from the need to build from the back with short passes. This significantly reduced positional errors and decreased the likelihood of passing mistakes. Situationally, full-back Jesús Areso moved into the midfield line during attacking phases. This allowed them to switch to a 3-5-2 formation and gain a solid numerical advantage in midfield. Regular overloading of the right flank forces the left full-back to shift to a third center-back position, often filled by Juan Cruz. A significant part of Osasuna's recent success is attributed to Ante Budimir. The Croatian forward has scored 15 times across all competitions this season.

⚽️ GOAL PREDICTION

Firstly, it's important to note that head-to-head matches between Real Sociedad and Osasuna rarely feature a large number of goals. The average total for this matchup is 2.2 goals per game. We also highlight Real Sociedad's rather dull scoring statistics this season - 1.2 goals scored per game with 0.9 conceded. We have already outlined the tactical models of both teams this season, which only suggest that chances for a "high-scoring" outcome are very slim. We settle on a total under 2.5 goals.

🚩 CORNER PREDICTION

In 6 of Real Sociedad's last 7 matches, there were no more than 10 corner kicks taken. A similar pattern is observed in 4 of Osasuna's last 5 encounters. The teams' willingness to sacrifice attacking versatility for more comfortable positional play in defense will likely leave its mark on corner statistics in their upcoming head-to-head match. Our editorial choice is a total corners under 10.5.

📝 MATCH PREDICTION

Osasuna has been quite successful in head-to-head encounters with Real Sociedad. The numerical advantage in midfield created by the "reds" prevents the "blue and whites" from fully exploiting their playmakers' potential. It's unclear what Imanol Alguacil will do this time to avoid another stalemate. In our view, the visitors have a decent resource to hold off the "royals." A final score of 1:1 is more than possible. The key bet is Osasuna's victory with a handicap (+1).