A turning point for Real and Espanyol in the Anoeta

Real Sociedad de Fútbol and RCD Espanyol will battle it out on matchday 34 of the Liga BBVA on Saturday at 20:00 in the Anoeta stadium.

The txuri-urdin have their minds set on a victory that could give them a place in the European competitions. They will be hoping to repeat their 1-0 win from matchday 33 against Real Valladolid CF. Their coach, Jagoba Arrasate, who renewed until 2016 earlier in the week, will be without his injured captain, Xabi Prieto. He will also be missing two of his most important players, as defender Íñigo Martínez and striker Antoine Griezmann will miss the match through suspension. Arrasate spoke of his target for the final stretch of the season: "We are concentrated on that goal and we’re on track, we want to return to Europe".

For their part, the blanquiazules will be bidding to gain ground on their opponent for the weekend, which is currently ten points ahead. "We cannot afford a third poor performance after our last two matches. I still think that 50 points is an achievable goal", said the side’s manager, Javier Aguirre, of the Catalan outfit’s objectives. The Mexican coach will have to deal with the absences of defender Héctor Moreno and midfielder Abraham González, both of whom are injured.