Real Sociedad vs Espanyol: Basque side seek first points and first home win in return to Anoeta
Real Sociedad host RCD Espanyol at the Reale Arena on Saturday, August 29, at 19:00, in LaLiga's third matchday — their first home game of the season and a chance to end a ten-match league run without a win.
Background
Real Sociedad host RCD Espanyol at the Reale Arena on Saturday, August 29, at 19:00 CET, in matchday three of LaLiga EA Sports. The match will be broadcast live on Movistar LaLiga, with commentary also available via Radio MARCA and MARCA.com.
It will be the Basque side's first home fixture of the season. According to AS, as cited by OneFootball, stadium renovation work forced Real Sociedad to open the campaign with two away matches, both lost — to Betis and to Real Madrid. In the latter, at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Sociedad fell 4-1, with Kylian Mbappé scoring a hat-trick and Vinícius Júnior also on target; Luka Sučić grabbed the hosts' only goal, according to remarks compiled by kirolakeitb.eus from goalkeeper Álex Remiro.
Sitting bottom of the table with zero points, Real Sociedad are also mired in a ten-match winless run in the league — eight from last season plus their opening two this term. Per OneFootball, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo is only the second manager in the club's history to reach such a run without a win, after José Mari Bakero in 2006. Before the season opener, Matarazzo had expressed confidence in his squad's readiness, saying that after seven weeks of preparation the team should be ready — "otherwise there would be cause for concern" — as reported by Diario Vasco.
Espanyol arrive in San Sebastián with three points and eighth place after beating Levante 3-0 at home before losing 1-2 to Real Madrid, a match in which Calatrava's goal had levelled the score at 1-1 before Madrid struck a late winner.
Squad news
Real Sociedad have called up new loan signing Mamadou Sarr, a Chelsea defender who joined without a buy option and completed the move only hours before kick-off, having trained with the squad at Zubieta just once. Matarazzo reportedly believes it is important for the player to experience the matchday atmosphere as early as possible, per OneFootball.
Jon Karrikaburu, who is finalising a move to Burgos CF, along with Pacheco and Mikel Goti, have been left out for technical reasons, while Pablo Marín and Álvaro Odriozola remain sidelined through injury. On the positive side, Jon Gorrotxategi returns from a pubis injury, and Gonçalo Guedes has again been included in the squad.
The build-up has come during an eventful week for the club: on Thursday, Real Sociedad also learned their Europa League group-stage opponents — Juventus, Olympique Lyon, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Viktoria Plzeň, Torreense, Union Saint-Gilloise and Lillestrøm — with Matarazzo saying he was "very happy" with the draw, according to kirolakeitb.eus.
