Preview: Atletico Madrid vs Real Sociedad - prediction, team news, lineups

Estadio de La Cartuja will play host to the 2026 Copa del Rey final on Saturday night, as Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad lock horns for the trophy.

Atletico are aiming to win the competition for the 11th time in their history, while Real Sociedad have their sights on just a fourth Copa del Rey crown.

Match preview

Atletico suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, but they still managed to advance to the semi-finals 3-2 on aggregate, with Diego Simeone's side now preparing to tackle Arsenal in the final four.

Incredibly, Atletico have actually lost five of their last six games in all competitions, including a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in their last domestic fixture, which left them fourth in the La Liga table, some 22 points behind the leaders Barcelona.

The Red and Whites will not be enjoying league success this year, but they can still win two cups, and they are aiming to lift the Copa del Rey trophy for the 11th time in their history.

Atletico last triumphed in 2012-13, beating Real Madrid 2-1, but they have actually lost their last two Copa del Rey contests against Real Sociedad, including a 2-0 defeat in the round of 16 in 2022.

Real Sociedad lead the head-to-head record between the two sides in this competition six wins to four, which includes the 1987 final, which the Basque outfit won 6-4 on penalties.

The overall head-to-head record in this fixture does favour Atletico, though, with the capital team winning 80 of their 164 matches, including a 3-2 success when the pair last locked horns in Spain's top flight in March of this year.

Real Sociedad have not beaten Atletico in any competition since the Copa del Rey last-16 contest back in January 2022, but they will certainly be the fresher of the two teams, having had a full week to prepare for the cup fixture with Simeone's side.

Indeed, La Real were last in action on April 11, drawing 3-3 with Alaves in La Liga, which left them seventh in the table, just two points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo in the battle for Europe.

Pellegrino Matarazzo's side beat their Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of this season's tournament, and their record in the competition against Atletico should hand them confidence ahead of this weekend's showpiece event.

The White and Blues have only managed to win the Copa del Rey on three previous occasions, though, with their last success coming in 2019-20, when they beat Athletic in the final.

Atletico Madrid Copa del Rey form:

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Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

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Real Sociedad Copa del Rey form:

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Real Sociedad form (all competitions):

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Team News

Atletico will once again be missing Pablo Barrios due to a thigh injury, while Jose Gimenez and David Hancko are regarded as major doubts for the Copa del Rey final.

Juan Musso's recent form between the sticks has been excellent, but fit-again Jan Oblak could come back into the side on Saturday for his first appearance since the start of March.

Johnny Cardoso is available again and provides an option in midfield, but Koke is likely to keep his spot, while there should be another position in the final third of the field for Antoine Griezmann alongside Julian Alvarez, with Alexander Sorloth expected to start on the bench.

Real Sociedad will have Unai Marrero between the sticks on Saturday, with the 24-year-old being given action in the Copa del Rey this season, and that is set to continue this weekend.

Inaki Ruperez, Jon Gorrotxategi, Yangel Herrera, Igor Zubeldia and Alvaro Odriozola are out of the match through injury, but Sergio Gomez's red card against Alaves last time out does not count towards a suspension in the Copa del Rey, so the defender is available for this fixture.

Mikel Oyarzabal was an unused substitute against Alaves last time out, but there will be a return in the final third of the field for the Spain international, who has scored 14 times in all competitions this season, including two goals in five outings in the Copa del Rey.

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Molina, Le Normand, Lenglet, Ruggeri; Simeone, Llorente, Koke, Lookman; Alvarez, Griezmann

Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:

Marrero; Aramburu, Martin, Elustondo, Gomez; Soler, Turrientes; Sucic, Mendez, Barrenetxea; Oyarzabal

We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad are more than capable of emerging victorious on Saturday, and we are expecting it to be a very close match, both in terms of the scoreline and the game as a whole.

Atletico had an energy-zapping game with Barcelona on Tuesday, but we are still expecting them to be good enough to edge a close game this weekend in order to secure the trophy.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.