This northern derby will see Osasuna looking to get their first win in this match-up since 2012, 13 games ago, as Jagoba Arrasate’s men look to derail Real Sociedad’s strong start, which saw them head into the World Cup break in third place.

Real Sociedad, though, unlike many of their top six rivals, they have been relatively unaffected by the World Cup. The only player involved was Take Kubo for Japan, who played a bit-part role for his country and returned to training in San Sebastián on 19th December. That could give the Basque side a slight advantage in the next few weeks.

Both sides will be without key players as midfield general Mikel Merino serves a suspension for the hosts, while Osasuna face the absence of striker Ante Budimir after his World Cup exploits with Croatia. Osasuna will miss him more than ever on the road given that they have averaged just 0.83 goals per 90 away from home this season, a figure lower than any side other than relegation-battling duo Cádiz and Almería.

That’s good news for La Real, as three of their four victories at home this season have come to nil. Keeping a clean sheet against Osasuna will be key to their game plan in the search for a home win to consolidate their place in the top four.

This Villarreal vs Valencia match is a battle of two teams who like to keep possession. So far this season, Valencia have the second-highest possession stats in LaLiga, with 58.6%, only behind Barcelona. However, Villarreal would be second if only counting their three league matches since Quique Setién took over as coach, as they’ve averaged 61.3% possession under the former Barça coach.

The way both these teams use possession is very different, though. Setién’s Villarreal are slow and overly patient when on the ball, whereas Valencia are keen to get the ball forward and to attack, which is why they’re the fourth-top scorers in the division with 22 goals.

It wouldn’t be a surprise for this game to follow the pattern of many Setién games, which would be for Villarreal to win the possession battle but to create very little with it and for Villarreal to concede chances in transition. Since Setién took over from Unai Emery, Villarreal have had more possession than their opponents in all seven matches across all competitions, but they’ve only won two of them in 90 minutes.

This is why the very high odds for a positive Valencia result are so attractive. It should also be kept in mind that although this is a home match for Villarreal, it’s actually their first fixture at the Estadio de la Cerámica since May, as the ground was being redeveloped. So, this won’t even be that familiar of an environment for this squad as they take on their rivals from down the road.