Villarreal v Real Sociedad Betting Tips: Second leg to follow same path as the first

18:01, 09 jan 2017
18:01, 09 jan 2017
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Villarreal and Sociedad will meet each other for the second time in a week as they come together at Estadio El Madrigal for the second leg of this Copa del Rey last-16 tie.

Having secured a fairly convincing home victory in the first leg (3-1), Eusebio Sacristán and his Sociedad team will be reasonably confident that they can make it through to the last eight of the competition; however, in conceding a late goal last Wednesday their lead isn’t as secure as it would’ve been and Villarreal – a team who’re tough to face on their own patch – aren’t out of it just yet.

From a betting point of view, much like last week’s encounter, goals are expected. Both of these two teams are very useful going forward and another high-scoring encounter looks likely. With this in mind, ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’, at odds of 5/4, is the bet to go for.

Having already faced each other on two occasions this season, goals have been commonplace when these two teams are pitted together. Each previous meeting has seen both find the net in a match that saw at least three goals go in. When the pair met at this ground back in September the scoreline read 2-1 in favour of the hosts.

When playing in front of a home crowd in particular, Fran Escribá’s Villarreal always look like scoring. They move the ball quickly, creating multiple chances regardless of their opponents and as a result have failed to score just once in their last ten matches (all competitions) at El Madrigal. The story is much the same for Sociedad on the road too. The visitors have scored in all but one of their nine competitive away matches this season, often offering a significant attacking threat.

It’s also important to consider the scoreline from the first leg. With a 3-1 lead, Sociedad aren’t tasked with forcing the issue here, they can allow Villarreal to come onto them before pouncing on the break. Having said this, as many teams will know, such a tactic can be a dangerous one against a side who’re as adept in possession as Villarreal.

The current scoreline means that the hosts need to attack. With the quality they have available, it would be a surprise if the hosts were unable to cause their opponents significant problems, although, as mentioned above, whether they like it or not they’ll present Sociedad with ample counter-attacking opportunities which could see this turn into a bit of an end-to-end encounter.

Simply put, with the style of play this pair like to adopt, combined with how the first leg has set things up, it’s easy to see this being an open, attacking match. More importantly, it should be one where both teams can profit in the final third, giving those punters who desire goals exactly what they’re looking for.

See more tips here.

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