The Final 10 Matches: Realistic Goals for Real Sociedad

With 10 matches remaining in the current (24-25) La Liga season.

Real Sociedad has been heavily impacted by an ultra-congested schedule of 19 matches in two months, and has dropped to 12th place currently.

Unfortunately, they were eliminated from the EL (Europa League), but looking at it positively, they can now focus on La Liga. I am sure they will climb up the standings from here.

So, how far do they need to catch up? I have considered Real Sociedad's final goal for this season from a realistic perspective.

Currently, with 35 points, it is a bit difficult for Real Sociedad to aim for a Champions League spot.
Inevitably, Real Sociedad's final goal will be securing an EL qualification spot.

So, is it just a matter of closing the 9-point gap with 5th-place Villarreal in the remaining 10 matches? Not necessarily.

Expansion of CL qualification spots via EPS

EPS refers to the additional (fifth) CL qualification spot granted to the top four leagues.

The other day, I posted a detailed article on this note about how the EPS system works, indicating that it is highly likely Spain will obtain this spot next season.

Actually, I wrote that for the sake of this article.

The reason is that I wanted to verify for myself how likely it is that Spain will obtain the EPS when considering Real Sociedad's final goal.

And I found that, unless something extraordinary happens, Spain will obtain the fifth CL qualification spot for next season.

As a result, the final position Real Sociedad should aim for changes from 5th to 6th.

However, looking at the gap with 6th-place Betis, it remains 9 points after all.

Impact of the Copa del Rey

The winner of the Copa del Rey (domestic cup) is awarded an EL qualification spot for next season.

Currently, the following four teams remain in the Copa del Rey.

• Barcelona (1st in the league)

• Madrid (2nd)

• Atletico (3rd)

• Sociedad (12th)

If Sociedad can win here, that would be ideal. However, since the others are such formidable opponents, I will proceed with the assumption of
what if they don't win.

If any of the three teams other than Sociedad win the title, the winning team will be prioritized for a Champions League spot, so the Europa League spot will be given to the team in 7th place in the league.

Accordingly, the final position Sociedad should aim for is 7th place.

The point difference is 5 points. It has become quite realistic.

There are three battles that simply cannot be lost.

Now that the final position to aim for is clear, let's take a look at the opponents for the remaining 10 matches.

Matches against top-tier teams remain, including Athletic, Atletico, and Madrid on the final matchday. Honestly, it's quite tough, but there are even more important matches than those.

These three matches are, so to speak, direct confrontations in the standings. In the sense that
we can take away the opponent's chance to earn 3 points, these matches will have the value of 6 points.

And these three matches are, in fact, all home games for Sociedad.

Securing a Europa League spot for next season is still well within reach.

Thank you for reading until the end.