Umar Sadiq’s Valencia vs Real Sociedad — Preview, team news, tips & H2H

Umar Sadiq will not be involved when Valencia host Real Sociedad at Mestalla on Sunday, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Nigerian international was the one attacking outlet to show up in a wretched opening month, scoring Valencia’s only goal in their first three matches, before a right hamstring injury sustained in the defeat at Deportivo La Coruna ended his involvement.

Valencia’s medical staff described it as a serious muscle problem, and pinned his expected return to early November.

Valencia have since sacked head coach Carlos Corberan, turned to reserve-team boss Oscar Sanchez on an interim basis, and recorded their first league win of the season last time out against Alaves.

Real Sociedad, meanwhile, arrive at Mestalla on the back of consecutive defeats to Atletico Madrid and Bournemouth, hunting a response.

Valencia vs Real Sociedad match preview

Sadiq’s afternoon at Riazor was supposed to be one of Valencia’s few positives from a torrid start, and instead it became the moment their season worsened further.

The Nigerian ended the game with discomfort in his hamstring, and subsequent scans confirmed a significant tear, with the club’s medical department placing him on a rehabilitation programme.

After that, Valencia lost to Barcelona and Sevilla, taking just one point from their opening five games and sitting bottom of La Liga before their hierarchy acted.

Carlos Corberan and football CEO Ron Gourlay were both dismissed on September 13, with Oscar Sanchez, previously in charge of Valencia’s reserve side, handed interim control of the first team.

Sanchez’s first match in the role produced Valencia’s first win of the campaign, a narrow 1-0 victory at Deportivo Alaves courtesy of a Luis Rioja goal off the bench, though it was not enough to lift them off the bottom three, with results elsewhere leaving Valencia 19th on four points from six matches.

Real Sociedad sit 12th on seven points, but their recent form has dipped sharply, with back-to-back defeats to Atletico Madrid in the league and Bournemouth in the Europa League raising fresh questions after two wins in their previous three matches.

Head-to-head record: Valencia vs Real Sociedad

Their most recent meeting, in May, produced a thriller won 4-3 by Valencia despite trailing for large periods, while the reverse fixture at Mestalla last August finished 1-1.

Zooming in on the more recent fixtures, Real Sociedad have actually had the better of it, winning 14 of the last 32 meetings between the sides to Valencia’s 10, with 8 draws between them.

Team news: Valencia vs Real Sociedad

Valencia (Umar Sadiq injured)

Valencia’s injury list stretches well beyond Sadiq. Mouctar Diakhaby, Cesar Tarrega, Jose Copete, Sergi Canos and Diego Lopez remain unavailable.

Dimitri Foulquier is a fitness doubt, and Luis Rioja, the scorer of the winner at Alaves, has since been ruled out with an ankle injury picked up in that same game, with a return date pencilled in for early October.

Arnaut Danjuma, Filip Ugrinic and David Otorbi are the players most likely to deputise in Valencia’s forward line as a result, with Hugo Duro expected to continue through the middle.

Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad have their own concerns in defence, with Alvaro Odriozola out long-term because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury and Igor Zubeldia a doubt to be involved for a third straight match, though his own muscle problem is expected to clear by late September.

Star player comparison: Hugo Duro vs Luka Sucic

The managers: Oscar Sanchez vs Pellegrino Matarazzo

Sanchez, promoted from Valencia’s reserve side VCF Mestalla, is helping his players recover from the psychological toll of a winless start before results could follow.

That single win at Alaves buys him some breathing room, though a first home match in interim charge, against opponents chasing three points of their own, is a different proposition entirely.

Matarazzo, 48, remains one of the more unlikely stories in La Liga. The New Jersey-born, Columbia University-educated head coach was appointed in December with Real Sociedad two points above the relegation zone, and by April he had led the club to their fourth Copa del Rey title, beating Atletico Madrid on penalties in Seville to become the first United States-born manager to win a major trophy in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Back-to-back defeats have since taken some shine off that story, and Sunday offers a chance to arrest the slide away from home.

Tactical preview: Valencia vs Real Sociedad

Sanchez inherits a Valencia side that has conceded 10 goals in six league matches, one of the division’s weakest defensive records, and Sadiq’s absence removes their most direct outlet in behind, leaving Duro to carry the central striking burden largely alone.

Real Sociedad’s front three of Mikel Oyarzabal, Ander Barrenetxea and Goncalo Guedes, rotating around Sucic in the number ten role, have the pace to exploit a Valencia back line still finding its feet under a new coach, though a defence that has shipped goals of its own suggests neither side is fully solved defensively.

With both managers still shaping their teams in real time, an open, error-prone contest looks more likely than a cagey one.

Valencia vs Real Sociedad betting tips and predictions

Final score prediction: Valencia vs Real Sociedad