Here's everything you need to know about Madrid's visit at Anoeta.
⚽ Team news
- Los Blancos have already announced their 23-man squad for the first La Liga match of the season.
- Eden Hazard, Isco, Eder Militao, Mariano Diaz, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio are all out with injuries.
- Gareth Bale is close to joining Tottenham Hotspur and hasn't been called up for the match.
- Asier Illarramendi, Luca Sangalli, Martin Merquelanz and Martin Zubimendi are out with injuries.
- Willian Jose and Igor Zubeldia are in doubt. (h/t Sportsmole)
⚽ Managers' quotes
Zinedine Zidane: "We have a team very similar to last year. Sociedad always play well and run a lot. It is a complicated field but it is good for us to start in this complicated game. We are preparing for it. We are going to defend our LaLiga title with great enthusiasm."
Imanol Alguacil: "Madrid are Madrid whether or not they make transfers. They have a great squad, their core is so good that even without transfers, they have a great team. They are the league champions who will want to start well and win their first game."
⚽ Probable line-ups
Real Madrid's predicted XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.. (Tribuna.com)
Real Sociedad's predicted XI: Remiro; Gorosabel, Elustondo, Llorente, Monreal; Merino, Guevara, Lopez; Oyarzabal, Isak, D Silva. (h/t Sportsmole)
⚽ Head-to-head record
- Out of the last five matches between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, the Basques have won three times while Los Blancos came out victorious twice.
- However, the last matches between the two sides ended in a 2-1 away win for us.
- In their first match of the 2020/21 La Liga season, La Real drew 1-1 with Real Valladolid at home.
⚽ Predictions
Sportsmole's Matt Law: Real Sociedad 1-2 Real Madrid
"Madrid will be missing a number of key players this weekend, but the visitors still have enough quality to pick up all three points. Sociedad are also full of talent, and it should be a very interesting contest; we just have a feeling for Los Blancos here, though, and fancy them to start their season with a win."
Total Football Analysis' Scott Martin: Real Sociedad 1-3 Real Madrid
"Zidane’s side starts there title defence against a tough opposition, but the timing really couldn’t be better. Between no fans in attendance and Real Sociedad stumbling out of the gate, the chemistry of Zidane’s starting XI should see this one out."
La Liga Expert's Mark Sochon: Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Madrid
Following the COVID outbreak in their camp, not to mention the loss of Odegaard, it’d be unrealistic to expect Real Sociedad to hit the ground running this season. They weren’t even that convincing towards the end of last term so this fixture might not be quite as difficult as it looks for Real Madrid.