Barça start the year with the traditionally tricky trip to Real Sociedad. The Basques haven’t been having the best of seasons and would rather be higher than 14th in the table. This has largely been due to their woeful form on the road, where they have only picked up four points in eight games. The other 11 of their 15 points have all been won at Anoeta, where they have three wins, two draws and three defeats this season.
They have also been more inclined to score goals on home turf. Their overall goal difference is 17-22 this season, but at home the balance is positive, 13 for and 10 against. And Real Sociedad has not been a happy hunting ground for Barça in recent years, where they have not won in any of the last four seasons.
Managerial change
The club got off to such a poor start this term that Jagoba Arrasate was shown the door and replaced by David Moyes, formerly of Everton and Manchester United. In his first five games in charge, the Scotsman has seen his side win one, draw three and lose just one league fixture, and also progress in the cup with a 2-0 aggregate win against Oviedo.
