Real Sociedad vs Valladolid preview - Arrasate: No margin for error

Posted Wednesday, March 26, 2014 by PA

Real Sociedad coach Jagoba Arrasate has ordered his players improve their results against teams near the bottom of the league, ahead of their match with relegation battling Real Valladolid on Thursday.

The Basques are sixth in the Primera Division table but in the last month have lost to struggling Rayo Vallecano and Almeria, contrasting with wins over title contenders Barcelona and a resurgent Valencia.

Sociedad let a two-goal lead on Valladolid slip the last time the teams met, and Arrasate is determined to compensate for both that match and their poor results against lowly teams.

"We cannot afford to slip up against these types of teams any more," he told reporters.

"Now we are finding out that it's much harder to win matches because every team has so much to play for, but it's no excuse - if we want to challenge as high up the table as possible, we cannot let many more points slip away."

La Real were beaten 4-3 at Almeria on Monday, twice going ahead but losing to an injury-time goal in what was a thrilling encounter.

Arrasate made no effort to hide his disappointment at the result.

"Of course it was a massive blow, and you can bet we've gone over it many times in our heads, but now we are thinking about tomorrow's game, because it's very important," he said.

Sociedad are now 10 points behind Athletic Bilbao in fourth spot, but Arrasate did not appreciate questions about whether his team can still catch Ernesto Valverde's side.

"Right now we shouldn't be thinking about the fourth spot, we should be thinking about playing well tomorrow and focusing on winning the game, because if we do that then we will be closer to getting there."

Sociedad have no fresh absentees for the game, while Valladolid will be without Humberto Osorio.

Valladolid are second-bottom of the table but a win in San Sebastian would take them out of the relegation zone.

Coach Juan Ignacio Martinez revealed his team were "deeply affected psychologically" by their 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, but stressed they "are over it and have everything to gain at Anoeta".