Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is the venue as Real Madrid and Real Sociedad lock horns in a tasty-looking La Liga contest.

Joselu marked his first goal for Real Madrid since returning to the club to help his side pull off a stunning comeback and beat Getafe 2-1 at home last time out, starting the new campaign with a four-game winning run, just as they did in 2022/23. But while they finished runners-up to Barcelona in the previous campaign, ‘Los Blancos’ are keen to go one better in Carlo Ancelotti’s last season in charge. Much will depend on Jude Bellingham, who has netted five goals in his four La Liga appearances since swapping Dortmund for Madrid, finding the net on each occasion. However, ‘Los Merengues’ have blown hot and cold across their last seven home H2Hs against Sociedad (W3, D2, L2), suggesting this won’t be another day in the office for Ancelotti’s men.

Adding to this sentiment, visiting Real Sociedad finally got into the win column following an underwhelming run of three consecutive draws at the start of the new La Liga season with a scintillating 5-3 home victory over Granada last time out. But the eight goals scored in that match may mislead naive to believe ‘La Real’ are an enjoyable team to watch, which hasn’t been the case by any stretch of the imagination. Their opening three league fixtures featured under 2.5 goals each, not to mention Sociedad failing to score more than once on every occasion. Imanol Alguacil’s men have stuttered on the road lately, racking up just two wins on their last nine La Liga travels (D3, L4).