Quality and motivation difference here.

After a fantastic season, Real Sociedad is close to losing their Champions League position (4th) due to a bad run of results and an improvement by rivals (Betis, Villarreal). They have won just two of the last 10 games, which is very strange for a team who has been the whole season in top positions and winning more than 50% of the games.

But I still believe in this team. They have no reason to decrease their performances, as they dont have more competitions so physically they should be fine. Just need to gain confidence, because the performances we have seen in the first 20-25 rounds were great: a team with good chemistry, playing fast football, and outplaying all rivals.

But Rayo Vallecano is the main reason for this pick. They are an offensive team who are playing really bad lately due to the lack of targets. They are in 8th position, Europe isn’t a real target for them so their recent performances are so poor. They have won just one of the last 9 games - last weekend against Osasuna at home.

The difference between Real Sociedad and Rayo is the motivation and fit. Real Sociedad in previous seasons used to decrease their level in the last rounds due to other competitions such as Europa League or Spanish Cup, where they reached final stages. But this season they were eliminated several rounds ago. But for Rayo Vallecano this is usual and normal, as they did the same in previous seasons: A very strong first half of the campaign, overperforming (as they have much less quality), and then playing relaxed without motivation, losing many games in the last rounds and showing their real level.

Real Sociedad already won 0:2 in the previous game, outplaying Rayo Vallecano. Guests have two starters out due to suspension: CB Catena (best defender) and important attacker Alvaro Garcia.

Rayo Vallecano is a team who will leave spaces and play offensively, which is good for Real Sociedad and their fast football. For hosts the victory is mandatory here to keep their 4th position while for guests there’s nothing on play here.

两队实力和动力不同。

在经历了一个梦幻般的赛季后，由于连续糟糕的成绩和竞争对手（贝蒂斯、比利亚雷亚尔）的进步，皇家社会即将失去冠军联赛的位置（第 4 名）。他们在过去的10场比赛中只赢了两场，这对于一支整个赛季都处于领先位置并且赢得超过50%比赛的球队来说是非常奇怪的。

但我仍然相信这支球队。他们没有理由降低他们的表现，因为他们没有更多的比赛，所以身体上应该没问题。只需要获得信心，因为我们在前 20-25 轮比赛中看到的表现非常棒：一支化学反应良好、踢得很快的球队以及能力击败所有对手。

巴列卡诺是选择本场的主要原因。他们是一支进攻型球队，最近由于缺乏目标而打得非常糟糕。他们排在第8位，欧战并不是他们的真正目标，所以他们最近的表现很差。他们只赢得了其中一个最近 9 场比赛 - 上周末主场对阵奥萨苏纳。

皇家社会和巴列卡诺之间的区别在于动力和契合度。过去几个赛季，皇家社会在最后几轮比赛中往往会因为欧罗巴联赛或西班牙杯等其他比赛进入决赛阶段而降低他们的水平。但是本赛季他们在几轮前就被淘汰了。但对于巴列卡诺来说，这很正常，就像他们在前几个赛季所做的那样：赛季前半段表现非常强劲，表现超常（因为他们的实力要差很多），然后在没有动力的情况下放松，输掉了很多比赛最后几轮并显示他们的真实水平。

皇家社会在上一场比赛中已经0:2获胜，战胜了巴列卡诺。由于停赛，客队有两名先发球员缺席：后卫Catena（最佳后卫）和重要的攻击手 Alvaro Garcia。

巴列卡诺是一支会留出空间并打进攻的球队，这对皇家社会和他们的快速足球有好处。主队的胜利在这里必须保持他们的第 4 名，而对于客队来说，没有任何的动力。