Leeds United step up their preparations for the return of the Premier League season with the visit of Real Sociedad on Friday night. The Whites edged out La Liga outfit Elche last week in their first match since the start of the World Cup break and they’ll be hoping for another stern test this week against the Basque outfit.
Sociedad will be the first of two teams to travel to Elland Road before Christmas, with an outing against French side Monaco arranged for Wednesday night, exactly a week before the competitive stuff gets underway once more. Jesse Marsch’s side won’t be at full strength on Friday night but the head coach will still hope to see a positive performance in front of a home crowd.
Here’s all you need to know about the Sociedad team travelling to West Yorkshire on Friday night.
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How have Real Sociedad fared this season?
It’s fair to say this season could hardly have gone better for Imanol Alguacil’s side and after 14 La Liga games, they sit third in the league table. Barcelona and Real Madrid are the only two teams to have collected more points at this stage and as it stands they’re perfectly positioned to go on and claim a place in the Champions League.
They haven’t been high scorers, with four of their eight league wins coming with a 1-0 scoreline, but they’ve developed a habit of seeing out results and that makes them dangerous going into the second half of the season. La Real are progressing nicely in the UEFA Europa League, too, at present and they won their group last month to seal a spot in the competition’s round of 16.
They beat Manchester United at Old Trafford 1-0 in September, while they saw off both Omonia and Sheriff Tiraspol twice to seal top spot in the group on goal difference.
Will Real Sociedad provide a test for Leeds United?
In a word, yes. The Spanish team will fancy their chances at Elland Road and they’ll be keen to head back into their La Liga campaign with a win under their belts.
They’re clearly hard to beat and Jesse Marsch’s side will have their work cut out if they are break them down and create chances from open play. That’s exactly what Marsch will be hoping for, though, as he readies his side to return to Premier League action.
They lost their star striker Alexander Isak to Newcastle United over the summer, but Alexander Sorloth has provided a physical presence up front and they don’t lack creativity with one rather well-known main man pulling the strings behind the attacking line.
Are there any familiar faces?
Four-time Premier League winner David Silva will be the most recognisable member of Sociedad’s travelling party. The former Manchester City man has been with them since leaving the Etihad Stadium in 2020 and, if he plays, he’ll be confident of opening Leeds up with his exquisite ability on the ball.
Silva, who turns 37 next month, picked up an injury a couple of weeks before the international break, but he took part in Saturday night’s draw with Rayo Vallecano and could be involved again at Elland Road.
Elsewhere, ex-Bournemouth defender Diego Rico is a familiar name, while Sorloth had a spell in the Premier League with Crystal Palace. Mikel Merino had a brief stint with Newcastle United, too.
Who else should I be looking out for?
It seems Brais Mendez has been the star performer for Sociedad this season following his summer move from Celta Vigo. The attacking midfielder has eight goals in all competitions with six coming in La Liga.
Spanish international Mikel Oyarzabel ruptured his ACL at the backend of last season and won’t play, but Champions League winner Asier Illarramendi could be involved, while Takefusa Kubo could be a threat if he travels after representing Japan in the World Cup.
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