DID YOU KNOW?
* Athletic Bilbao have scored the highest number of headed goals (17) in La Liga this season thanks to their towering striker Fernando Llorente.
* Los Leones have negotiated all of their "toughest" fixtures and none of their remaining matches is with a club currently in top seven in the table.
* Caparros’ side have lost two straight games at home; their poorest phase of the campaign at home.
* Out of the last nine league goals from Athletic, only one has come in the first half.
* The match is a good bet to come alive in the last 20 minutes as both the sides have scored around 35% of their goals each in this time.
* Real Sociedad finally broke their string of bad results last matchday when they ended a run of four straight defeats.
* The “Txurri Urdin’s” last win at San Mames came in the about a decade ago. During this period they have collected just one point out of possible 18.
* A heartening statistic for their rivals would be that "La Real" have conceded 17 goals in last 15 minutes: a tendency that may complement Athletic's late scoring nature.
* Lasarte's men have won just one game in last two months and they are just 5 points away from the drop zone.
LAST MEETING
December 5, 2010: Real Sociedad 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
The last time both the sides met, one player decided the outcome of the match: Mikel San Jose; though not quite in the way he would have liked. It was his handball that led to a penalty from which Sociedad midfielder Xabi Prieto had scored.
He also very nearly gave away a penalty before scoring an own goal to extinguish any hopes of a comeback from Bilbao. Overall it was a memorable night for Sociedad and a frustrating one for Athletic who failed to score despite having good chances of their own.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Athletic Bilbao: Iraizoz; Iraola, San Jose, Ekiza, Castillo; Lopez, Martinez, Orbaiz, Gabilondo; Llorente, Toquero
Real Sociedad: Bravo;Martínez, Estrada, González, Ansotegi; Xabi Prieto, Rivas, Aranburu, Zurutuza, Griezmann; Tamudo
Prediction
This is a Basque derby match and thus a certain fieriness can be expected. With the stakes extremely high for both the sides, no one will want to settle for a draw. However, even though Sociedad won the last game it had a certain tinge of fortune to it.
The simmering cauldron of San Mames, Llorente's physicality and previous history of success against "La Real" should ensure a Bilbao victory.
Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Real Sociedad 
