Predicted XIs Real Sociedad-Barcelona: Flick to make changes

Barcelona are aiming to re-establish their four-point lead at the top of La Liga when they go to Real Sociedad on Sunday. Real Madrid cut the gap to one with their win over Levante on Saturday, but the Catalans will fancy their chances of securing a 12th victory in a row across all competitions.

However, Anoeta is a stadium that Barcelona have struggled at, with their last visit being a 1-0 defeat in November 2024. Furthermore, they will be without the services of Raphinha, who is not being risked due to a minor injury, and this will make their chances of victory slimmer than they had been earlier in the week.

According to Sport, Raphinha will be replaced by Marcus Rashford, while Dani Olmo is expected to be preferred to Fermin Lopez in the attacking midfield position. As for the rest of the team, it would stay the same as last weekend’s Spanish Supercup final victory over Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia.

As for La Real, the likelihood is that head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo will name the same side that secured a late victory at Getafe last weekend. Takefusa Kubo has been in fine form in recent weeks, and he will be the big danger on the right wing, where he will be up against Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde.

Barcelona face a big test of their title credentials

Barcelona have been in all-conquering form over the last couple of months, but as things stand, they are only one point clear of Real Madrid at the La Liga summit. Extending that lead back to four will be more difficult now than a few weeks ago, given that Matarazzo has made an impressive start to life in Donostia-San Sebastian since replacing Sergio Francisco as head coach.