Alavés (Home)
- Alaves can set up with two strikers or false strikers, depending on the matchup, but they always look to overload the wings and counter-attack at pace when they regain possession.
- Alaves have won only one of their last five matches - a 2-0 home victory over Rayo at this venue - but they can be a dangerous team and have beaten Real Sociedad three times in their last four meetings.
- Eduardo Coudet’s side are a direct and often exciting team on their day with a high-tempo pressing game and players who are comfortable with the ball, who like to transition quickly.
Real Sociedad (Away)
- Real Sociedad will take some stopping on Wednesday when they face Alaves in this single-leg Basque derby for a place in the 2025-2026 Copa del Rey semi-finals at Mendizorroza.
- Pellegrino Matarazzo’s men are currently eighth in LaLiga with 27 points from 21 games, but they appear to have found some momentum under Matarazzo, who has implemented his aggressive pressing game and positional rotation in January.
- The result has been a revival and they have been unbeaten in their last five matches, including wins over Barcelona and Celta.
Head-to-Head
Alaves have won three of the last four LaLiga meetings, including two 1 - 0 home victories at Mendizorroza, while Real Sociedad won the other.
Key Players
- Mikel Oyarzabal remains their talisman, leading the scoring charts and getting two against Celta, while Gonçalo Guedes and Brais Méndez have also been in good form.
- The absence of Takefusa Kubo, who has been outstanding when fit, due to hamstring problems will be a blow as the Japan star has brought a different dimension to their play from the right-hand side.
- Lucas Boyé has been a physical presence up front of late, scoring against Oviedo and holding the ball up well to allow Alaves’ wide players to counter-attack.
- Carlos Vicente leads the team’s scoring charts and can be a threat from the flanks, especially after his goal from range against Rayo in the last round of the cup.
Betting Insights
- Real Sociedad are 2.48 to win the game, which seems a little short given Kubo’s absence, while the hosts and the draw are both priced at 3.0.
- We’ll go for the slight edge to the visitors, but we also like the look of under 2.5 goals at 1.53 because of the likely tight nature of this cup matchup between two well-organised teams.
Prediction
- However, Alaves can be very compact at times and dangerous on set-pieces, which could force the matchup to go all the way to extra time or penalties.
- We are expecting the visitors to squeak through to the semis, but probably after 120 minutes.
