Elche vs Real Sociedad Prediction: Back the low-scoring Draw

We are into Round 12 in La Liga and the last set of games before another international break. We start on Friday night with a mid-table clash live on Premier Sports 1, with kick-off set for 20:00. That match is Elche vs Real Sociedad.

Our La Liga Betting expert Mark Sochon will start our weekend La Liga coverage as he preview the action and picks out his two Best Bets for the matchup. Let's check out his Elche vs Real Sociedad Predictions...

*You can check out all the Football Odds and markets on offer with us over at betfred.com

Match Preview:

Elche take on Real Sociedad in this week's Friday night fixture in La Liga. The hosts have impressed on their return to the Spanish top flight and would move to seventh with a victory in this match. 

Eder Sarabia's side have come up with a very clear style of play, having dominated the ball in virtually all of their Segunda División games last season. They've tried to operate in exactly the same way at a higher level and even had more possession than Barcelona when the teams met last weekend. 

Los Franjiverdes gave a good account of themselves in that fixture, with Rafa Mir getting on the scoresheet and hitting the woodwork twice. However, they always faced an uphill battle after two bad mistakes directly led to them falling 2-0 down in the first 15 minutes. 

They've now only taken one point from their last four matches, having not lost any of their opening seven. A slightly tougher period was always likely at some stage, but it's clear that they are going to continue playing out from the back. 

Their home performances have remained strong, and they were the better team against Athletic Club in their most recent fixture at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, which ended goalless. 

Up against Basque opposition again this week, Elche will sense an opportunity to put more points on the board. Real Sociedad made a really poor start to life under their new boss Sergio Francisco. They won just one of their opening nine matches under the 46-year-old, who was promoted from his role as B-team boss in the summer. 

Just when it was starting to look like the writing was on the wall for the new man, Real Sociedad have reeled off three straight victories in all competitions. While one of those was entirely expected against minnows Negreira in the Copa del Rey, home wins over Sevilla and Athletic in La Liga have at the very least bought Francisco some time. 

Last weekend's Basque derby was a dramatic affair, with 23-year-old Jon Gorrotxategi lashing home a 92nd-minute winner for Real Sociedad in the pouring rain. It was an old-fashioned derby match in many respects, with tensions boiling over at times in a contest between two relatively unconvincing teams that ended 3-2. 

Brais Méndez was perhaps the pick of the players in the game, with the midfielder scoring and assisting for the hosts. Summer signing Carlos Soler also started, and Real Sociedad are keen to give the former PSG and West Ham man time to settle into this side and build up his confidence levels again after a difficult few years. 

Team News: 

Pedro Bigas is the only fitness doubt for Elche heading into this game. Víctor Chust is the most likely alternative in central defence, with Sarabia switching from a back three to a back four in recent weeks. Otherwise, major changes are not expected following a competitive showing against Barcelona. 

We're also unlikely to see many alterations from the Real Sociedad boss, now that he's finally stumbled on the winning formula. They do have a fitness doubt over winger Ander Barrenetxea, which may lead to a recall for Take Kubo. 

The visitors will again be without the injured duo of Orri Steinn Óskarsson and Yangel Herrera. Back-up midfielder Arsen Zakharyan is also rated doubtful. 

Match Odds:

There's not much to split the teams in the Match Result market. Real Sociedad are the very slight favourites at 13/8, while you can back Elche at 7/4. 

If you're expecting this game to serve up a few goals, you can back Both teams to score at 4/5, a winning bet in each of La Real's last three league encounters. Over 2.5 goals is available at 11/10, while the hosts are priced at 13/8 to score over 1.5 goals across the 90 minutes. 

You can also take advantage of a Price Boost to back Both teams to score, Mir to have 1+ shots on target, Mikel Oyarzabal to have 1+ shots on target and Each team to have 4+ Corners at 6/1. 

Those two players also feature heavily in the Goalscorer markets, with Mir the 5/1 favourite to score first. He's also on offer at 15/8 to score anytime. Andre Silva has also scored four times for Elche this term, and at a faster rate than his strike partner, so punters may be more drawn to odds of 21/10 for the Portuguese forward to score anytime. 

Oyarzabal is Real Sociedad's top scorer with four goals in La Liga. The Spain international is priced at 11/2 to score first and 2/1 to score anytime. 

You can bet on this match via our Elche vs Real Sociedad Odds page on the main betfred.com website, with all the latest prices and full betting markets.

Bet 1 - Draw @ 11/5 

It's tough to make a strong case for either side winning this match. Elche remain unbeaten at home, but their form has dipped, and they've only scored twice in their last four league encounters. While their football has been easy on the eye, it can be somewhat predictable at times against teams that drop deeper than Barça did last Sunday. 

Real Sociedad will take more belief into the game, but it'd be a stretch to suggest they are suddenly playing brilliantly, despite those recent wins. They've not won on the road yet in La Liga under Francisco, and there are still a number of areas where they need to improve. 

In what should be a pretty even game, I think the Draw is the value bet in the Match Result market at odds of 11/5, and it's an outcome that both coaches might settle for heading into the international break. 

Bet 2 - Under 3.5 goals & Under 10.5 corners @ 20/21 

While Elche's match against Barcelona was quite open last weekend, becoming incredibly stretched at times, many of their other games have been much tighter and more tactical affairs. Much of the action has tended to be in the centre of the pitch, and that has contributed to their home fixtures averaging just 6.60 corners this season. 

This is also a game short on obvious goal threats. Oyarzabal is one of only two Real Sociedad players to have scored more than once in La Liga so far, and even he is not that prolific, with five years having passed since he last reached double figures for league goals. 

Elche have also been heavily reliant on Mir and Silva, who have accounted for 67% of their total goals this term. Given that, I can see this being a relatively low-scoring game, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Under 3.5 goals and Under 10.5 corners at 20/21. 

Mark Sochon P/L 25/26 Season:

• Points Staked: 77
• Points Returned: 77.66
• P/L: +0.66

You can check out Mark's Football Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...