Real Sociedad vs Mirandes Copa del Rey Semifinals Leg 1 Odds & Pick
- Match up in semifinal two of the Copa del Rey feature a David vs Goliath matchup
- Real Sociedad head into the tie big odds-on favorites
- Mirandes a juicy +540 underdog for the first-leg win at home
It’s Copa del Rey semifinal time in Spain this week and the second semifinal throws up a classic David versus Goliath cup-tie, with La Liga high-flyers Real Sociedad coming up against Segunda División minnows CD Mirandés. It all kicks off in San Sebastián’s Anoeta Stadium on Thursday, February 13 at 3:00 pm EST.
Real Sociedad come in as big favorites, so we’ll take a look and see if we can identify some value.
Real Sociedad vs Mirandes Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Sociedad | -1,-1.5 -107 | -238 | O 2.5 -113 |
| Mirandes | +1, +1.5 -113 | +540 | U 2.5 -107 |
| Draw | N/A | +360 | N/A |
All odds taken Feb 10th
Fairy Tale Cup Run for Mirandes
In the 2018-19 season, Mirandes were plying their trade in the Spanish third tier, the Segunda División B, but now they find themselves just two games away from the Copa del Rey final – only Real Sociedad between them and a place in the final of Spain’s most prestigious cup competition.
To put this in perspective, Mirandes’ home stadium – the Estadio Municipal de Anduva – has a capacity of just 5,759 and they only made it back into the Segunda División this season by virtue of a playoff win over CD Atlético Baleares after finishing in third place in the regular season.
Humble Beginnings With Extra Time Wins
This season has been one of consolidation and they currently sit in 11th place in the Segunda División with a record of eight wins, eleven draws and six defeats, so there was no sign of this cup run when they started their Copa del Rey campaign on December 17 with an away tie against Coruxo.
As it transpired, they needed extra time to overcome their Segunda División B opponents 5-4.
They also needed extra-time to win their second-round match, against División B opponents UCAM Murcia – another away tie as per the Copa del Rey rules when playing a lower division team – but edged through 3-2 to set up a round-of-32 tie against La Liga opposition, Celta Vigo.
This time Mirandes were at home and made this advantage count with a thrilling 2-1 victory in a game that again went to extra-time; Antonio Sánchez scoring the winner.
Heroics at Every Turn
More heroics were to follow in the round-of-16 when more La Liga opposition was put to the sword. On this occasion high-flying Sevilla were the opponents and found themselves 3-0 down at the Anduva before they scored a 91st-minute consolation, Matheus (2) and Alvaro Rey scoring for Mirandes.
The fairytale continued in the quarterfinal with La Liga’s Villareal the visitors to the Anduva and in a pulsating cup tie last Wednesday, Los Rojillos emerged 4-2 winners, setting up this two-legged semifinal against Sociedad.
Real Sociedad vs Mirandes Head-to-Head Stats
| 5 | Copa del Rey games played 2019/20 | 5 |
| 17 | Number of players used in competition | 16 |
| 9 | Goals scored | 9 |
| 4 | Goals conceded | 10 |
| 9 | Yellow cards | 9 |
| 1 | Red cards | 0 |
| 270 | Average number of passes per game | 189 |
Fine La Liga Season for Sociedad
For Real Sociedad, the route to the semifinal has been a little more straight forward and began back in mid-December with a very comfortable 8-0 win away at fourth-tier Becerril.
Their second round tie – away to fourth-tier Ceuta – was equally comfortable, if less emphatic, with them running out easy 4-0 winners.
Things started to get tougher in the round-of-32 when they were drawn at home to La Liga opponents, Espanyol but a goal on the stroke of halftime from Barrenetxea and a second-half strike from Isak were enough to see them safely through, without drama, to a round-of-16.
Wins Over Osasuna and the Mighty Real Madrid
Next up was a home tie with La Liga’s Osasuna and, again, they made light work of potentially tricky opponents. A double from Isak and another from Martin Ødegaard were enough to give them a comfortable-looking 3-1 win and set up a quarterfinal away at the Santiago Bernabeu against the mighty Real Madrid.
What followed was an evening that will go down in Real Sociedad folklore. Imanol Alguacil’s team produced an almost perfect away performance – solid in defense and devastating on the counter-attack – and but for a late Real Madrid comeback would have won the tie comfortably.
As it happened, they led 3-0 and then 4-1 before having to withstand a late barrage that threatened to spoil their party, but dogged and determined defense set up this semi against Mirandes.
Logic Says Home Win
So, logically, after such a massive quarterfinal win, Sociedad start this one as big odds-on favorites. They are also in the middle of an outstanding La Liga campaign and currently sit in sixth place, just two points shy of fourth and that lucrative Champions League place. Everything points to a Sociedad win, especially with them having home advantage in the first leg.
For Mirandes, this one will largely be a damage limitation exercise in the hope they can head into the second leg at home still with a chance of springing an upset. A one-goal deficit would be considered a decent result for Los Rojillos, although even a 2-0 would be enough for them to believe they still have a sniff of a chance. It’s hard, hower, to see them having enough to score at the Estadio Anoeta.
Pick: Real Sociedad to -1.5 (-107)
Once just a sports fanatic, fan-turned-writer Gary Gowers has been featured on European television and radio networks to discuss several professional football clubs. His work can be found in an assortment of publications like The Metro, MyFootballWriter.com, and BBC Radio Norfolk.
