Ponferradina vs Real Sociedad

Estadio El Toralín forms the backdrop for a ‘David vs Goliath’ Copa del Rey meeting between third-tier Ponferradina and three-time champions Real Sociedad.

Ponferradina’s quest to return to La Liga 2 is firmly back on track after three consecutive league wins ‘to nil’ at the tail-end of 2024. Their league campaign took a quick break to accommodate their first-ever meeting with Real Sociedad after penalty shootout wins against lower-tier sides Escobedo and Castellon saw them navigate the first two Copa del Rey rounds. Both matches featured under 2.5 goals after 90 minutes, highlighting the potential for a low-scoring contest. That’s been a dominant theme in Ponferradina’s recent fixtures, as their last four have produced two goals or fewer. However, they’ve been ruthless on home turf, bagging 2+ goals in four of their five matches here since the beginning of November (W4, D1).

Meanwhile, Real Sociedad’s pursuit of their fourth Copa del Rey title and first since 2019/20 survived scary moments in the previous round as they needed extra time to overcome fourth-tier Conquense 1-0. However, Imanol Alguacil’s men demonstrated their class in a 5-0 romping of Jove Espanol in round one. Another victory without conceding isn’t beyond ‘La Real,’ especially considering their four away wins since the start of November have come ‘to nil.’ It’s worth noting that they failed to find the net in two of their three road defeats in that sequence, underscoring the significance of breaking the deadlock. Adding to this sentiment, their last four outings away from home have seen one fail to score in matches garnering under 2.5 total goals.