Real Sociedad will climb clear of Deportivo
They were the first Spanish champions of the 21st century, they reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2003-04 and even as recently as last season they were a top-half team, so it's fair to say that the decline of Deportivo La Coruna has been steady yet spectacular.
Continuing in the same horrifically bad manner that they finished 2009-10, Depor are already three points from safety and without a win, and the four points that they have collected are a whopping 11 fewer than they had at this point last term.
The days where Roy Makaay and Diego Tristan used to compete with one another for the Pichichi Trophy are long gone. So far, they have mustered just three goals in seven games, none of which have been scored by strikers and two of which were penalties, and have fired five blanks.
Their hosts this evening Real Sociedad are proof that the transformation from title contenders to Segunda side can be frighteningly quick. The Basque club took the 2002-03 fight for first to the final day but were relegated four years later and required three attempts to regain top-flight status.
Of course, there's no guarantee that Martin Lasarte's men's Liga return will last more than 12 months, however their early form at San Sebastian and the instant impact of veteran striker Raul Tamudo since signing in the summer make them look more likely to secure safety than Deportivo.
Real Sociedad's opening three home matches have come against current top-five trio Villarreal, Real Madrid and Espanyol and they have picked up a very respectable six points, their one defeat coming 2-1 against the leaders, so [2.02] appears a great price for them to overcome weaker opponents.
Given Depor's problems in front of goal, under 2.5 goals is a wise wager at [1.65], while a punts to consider at lengthier odds is 1-0 at [6.8], as that has been the margin of the hosts' two triumphs.
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Published: 25 Oct 2010
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