Will Real Madrid make their first ever loss against the Basques?
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski – these were the names of the last top scorers in the Spanish La Liga. At the end of the season, a young Englishman with a black-and-yellow past could also join the extremely illustrious circle. We’re talking about Jude Bellingham, of course, who currently tops the goalscoring charts with five goals after four rounds of matches.
The former Dortmund player, who plays a very offensive role in Carlo Ancelotti’s system as a “completely false nine”, is one of the most important guarantors for the flawless start to the season of the royals, who are enthroned with twelve points at the top of the table in the Spanish top flight. Unsurprisingly, the odds on the capital club in the Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad clash are now significantly lower.
Because the Basques have been able to annoy the Madrid heavyweights time and again in the recent past and are also still unbeaten in the young season, the leaders, who have won their matches with a lot of effort so far, will have to stretch themselves. It may therefore be a reasonable approach to force a forecast on sub-par goals between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad. We tend not to believe in a spectacular clash with many goals on both sides.
Real Madrid – statistics & current form
Not only the eyes of Spanish soccer fans will be on Real Madrid on Sunday night. Also the scouts and opponent analysts of Union Berlin will look very closely at the encounter of the Galactic against San Sebastian. The background is a very pleasing one from the iron’s point of view, because next Wednesday the Bundesliga club will celebrate its debut in the Champions League at, of all places, Madrid’s Santiago Estadio de Bernabeu.
It is quite possible that the star ensemble of coach Carlo Ancelotti will then continue to go into this first matchday of the group stage in the top division as the leader of La Liga without a loss. Between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, the odds are clearly in favor of the Madrilenians. At the top, a 1.65 is offered on the home win, which, however, also takes into account that despite good results, there is still a lot of sand in the gears.
Results soccer par excellence
The way the Royals have won their four matches so far, in fact, has not been convincing. Especially the recent two wins at Celta Vigo (1-0) and the previous week at home against Getafe (2-1) were definitely in the “work win” category. Against Getafe, Bellingham and Co. were even trailing 0:1 at the break before the favorite turned the match around, but again failed to play the stars out of the sky.
In view of these less than glamorous performances at national level so far, we refrain from making a prediction in the direction of the home side in the three-way market between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad. If you still expect the capital to win, you can possibly aim for a high 4.50 for the visitors to at least hold the draw until half-time, but after 90 minutes, as is so often the case, the cleverness of the “white ballet” gets the upper hand.
Predicted Real Madrid lineup:
Real Madrid (Expected lineup) 4-3-2-1
Real Sociedad – statistics & current form
While we were philosophizing about Real Madrid’s Champions League opener against Union Berlin, Real Sociedad can also look forward to the CL anthem starting next week. Thanks to their fourth place in the preseason, the Basques will also be able to get a taste of the Champions League. In a group with last year’s finalists Inter Milan, RB Salzburg and Benfica Lisbon, however, San Sebastian is considered an underdog.
RSSS defense is tough to crack
The form seems to be right for coach Imanol Alguacil’s team at the moment. After four matchdays, RSSS is still unbeaten in La Liga, although it was only in the fourth attempt just before the international break that they managed to bag their first treble in a 5-3 win over Granada. Before that, last year’s fourth-placed team had to settle for three points in a row. The opening draws against Girona and Celta Vigo were particularly annoying, as both teams failed to hold on to a 1-0 lead.
In total, the team has six points, which puts them in eighth place. The Alguacil team’s showpiece in 2023/24 is once again its defense. The aforementioned 5:3 win two weeks ago can be considered an exception in this respect, as San Sebastian have scored a maximum of two goals in 15 of their past 21 league games.
The only away game in the current season even ended 0-0, and the Basques already had the third-best defense away from home last year, conceding just 19 goals. In 2022/23, only two teams were able to score more than two goals against La Real at home. Accordingly, on Sunday night between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, the odds on the under 2.5 are also of increased interest.
Predicted lineup of Real Sociedad:
Real Sociedad (Expected lineup) 4-4-2
Real Madrid – Real Sociedad Direct comparison / H2H balance
Competitively, this weekend marks the 164th meeting between these clubs. Out of a total of 76 away games in the Spanish top flight, Real Sociedad have only managed to win four (!) of them in Madrid. However, this should not obscure the fact that the Basques have sold themselves dearly at the Bernabeu time and again in the recent past.
It’s not for nothing that the royals have only won two of their five most recent La Liga home games against their upcoming opponents. In general, there were only two wins from the last six direct league duels. In the preseason, San Sebastian took four points out of a possible six against the Galactics and even went without conceding a goal! They have also scored no more than two goals in five of their last six encounters.
Real Madrid – Real Sociedad tip
The highly anticipated top match on the fifth matchday in La Liga will take place on Sunday evening at the Estadio Santiago de Bernabeu. Although the leader from the capital is considered the clear favorite before the match against last year’s fourth-place team, there is no value to be seen between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad in the betting odds on the home win in our eyes.
We base this assessment on the one hand on the fact that the Galacticos have struggled recently against RSSS, taking only one of a possible six points from the first and second legs in 2022/23, as well as remaining without a goal of their own. On the other hand, despite four wins, Ancelotti’s eleven has not been fully convincing so far this season. Without the classic nine, there is a lack of offensive penetration. Jude Bellingham, who is by far the top scorer, hides the weaknesses somewhat, but he can’t be a permanent solution.
Now one of the best defenses in the country awaits. Last season, only three teams provided a more stable defense than Alguacil’s team, which also went without conceding a goal in its only away game to date in 2023/24 and also remains eighth in the standings unbeaten. The Basques’ very compact and long-legged defense will pose problems for the supposed favorites.
Therefore, we would force a tip in the duel Real Madrid against Real Sociedad that in the 90 minutes a maximum of two goals fall
