Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid

Reale Arena forms the backdrop for a handsomely-looking La Liga season finale between Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid. 

Real Sociedad’s promising-looking run of three wins from their last four league outings will only be sufficient for a sixth-placed finish and a spot in next season’s Europa League. No matter the outcome, the San Sebastian outfit can’t climb up the ladder, even though they’ll be desperate to inflict more damage on Atletico Madrid after going winless in their last eight La Liga H2Hs (D3, L5). That run includes a 2-1 defeat in this season’s reverse fixture, but Imanol Alguacil’s men could turn the tables on home turf, where they’ve only lost once in their last five matches (W3, D1). With all three wins in that period accompanied by a clean sheet, breaking the deadlock could be a recipe for success as far as Alguacil’s lads are concerned.

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid slumped to an embarrassing 4-1 home defeat to Osasuna last weekend, which failed to impact their place in the standings. Diego Simeone has again steered Los Rojiblancos to a top-four finish and Champions League football despite their meager 39% win ratio in away league matches (W7, D3, L8). But regardless of their long-standing travel sickness, the visitors have won their last two league games on the road and could make it three in a row for the first time this season. Perhaps surprisingly, Atletico Madrid last won three consecutive La Liga games on the road in October 2022, but they’ve fared well at Reale Arena. Before a 1-1 draw in this corresponding fixture in 2022/23, they had beaten Sociedad in back-to-back away league H2Hs, netting precisely two goals on both occasions.