Bournemouth vs Real Sociedad
After a torrid time in the United States for their Premier League Summer Series tour, Bournemouth will head back to the Vitality Stadium, where they’ll host Real Sociedad in their final Club Friendly this summer before they kick off the 2025-26 campaign against Liverpool next week.
Andoni Iraola’s side has been through a lot this summer, as they sold some of their key players from last term. You can see that the outgoings affected them, as they’re on a lacklustre run of Club Friendly 2025 results. Bournemouth finished third in the Premier League Summer Series with only three points, and they’ve lost back-to-back games against Manchester United and West Ham United.
On the other hand, Real Sociedad also let go of one of their key players this summer, but they’ve done better in preseason. La Real come into this contest undefeated in three of their last four matches (W2, D1, L1).
Learn more about these two teams, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Talking Points
Bournemouth could lose one more star
The Cherries have already sold Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez for roughly €100 million, which is difficult to resist. In return, they signed Djordje Petrovic and Adrien Truffert for only €43 million, and they may be tempted to sell another one of their stars this offseason.
After a standout 2024-25 campaign, where he established himself as a key starter at the back, Illia Zabarnyi might leave Bournemouth, with PSG knocking on his door. The Parisiens reportedly submitted a transfer offer of €60 million (plus variables), and Zabarnyi’s representatives have already agreed terms, but Bournemouth are reportedly holding out.
With both teams in a stalemate, Zabarnyi is reportedly losing patience, and Tottenham and Newcastle United could hijack the deal to acquire the Ukrainian centre-back. Bournemouth are under pressure to find the best deal for Zabarnyi as soon as possible because they cannot afford to have a disgruntled star in their dressing room.
Zabarnyi still started for the Cherries against West Ham United during their final Premier League Summer Series match. But his presence wasn’t enough to stop the Hammers from scoring, as Niclas Fullkrug and Jarrod Bowen had one goal apiece.
In other transfer news, Bournemouth just completed the transfer of Neto to Botafogo. Neto, 36, spent last season on loan at Arsenal and was headed into the final year of his Bournemouth contract. The Cherries will make a significant saving on his wages, as the Brazilian goalie was one of the club’s highest-paid players.
Guedes might make his Real Sociedad debut
Real Sociedad have had a relatively quiet offseason, following the €70 million sale of Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal, until they acquired Duje Caleta-Car to strengthen their backline and Goncalo Guedes to bolster their attack.
La Real reportedly paid only €4 million for the Portuguese forward, and Guedes will compete for minutes alongside Mikel Oyarzabal, Takefusa Kubo, and Ander Barrenetxea. Guedes has spent his 2024-25 campaign playing for Villarreal, Benfica, and Wolves. He was largely used from the bench at Molineux last term, starting just 10 of his 29 Premier League appearances. On the other hand, Caleta-Car arrived from Lyon via loan. Both of them could debut for Real Sociedad this weekend.
After losing 1-0 to V-Varen Nagasaki in their first club friendly, Real Sociedad won 2-1 against Yokohama FC and 4-1 against Osasuna before drawing 1-1 against Rennes. After visiting the Vitality Stadium, Sergio Francisco’s side will open their La Liga campaign against Valencia next week.
History
Saturday marks only the second meeting between Bournemouth and Real Sociedad. These two teams last met in an exhibition game at the Vitality Stadium last July 2022. Real Sociedad won 2-1, as Mikel Merino and Igor Zubeldia scored one goal each, and Junior Stanislas recorded a late goal to prevent a shutout loss for Bournemouth. The pregame Club Friendly 2025 odds predict another close contest, with the La Liga side likely to win again by an odd goal.
Before their third-place finish in the Premier League Summer Series, Bournemouth finished ninth in the English top-flight standings last term with 56 points, level with 10th-seeded Brentford. It was their best finish in recent memory, as, at one point, they were in contention for a European football berth.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad finished 11th in the La Liga standings with 46 points, level with 12th-seeded Valencia. After spending 14 years coaching La Real, Imanol Alguacil left the club to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab. Sergio Francisco was appointed to replace Alguacil as the team’s head coach.
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