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

Atletico Madrid will be aiming to make it three straight wins in Spain's top flight when they continue their domestic campaign at home to Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Diego Simeone's side are third in the La Liga table, level on points with fourth-placed Villarreal, while Real Sociedad are eighth, five points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo.

Match preview

Atletico lost 3-0 to Barcelona in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Tuesday evening, but they still managed to advance to the final of the competition, with a 4-0 victory in the first leg in Madrid proving to be enough to win narrowly on aggregate.

Simeone's team are fighting on three fronts in the latter stages of the season, with the capital outfit still active in the Champions League, preparing to take on struggling Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur over two legs of their last-16 tie.

Atletico have won their last two in La Liga against Espanyol and Real Oviedo, and they sit third in the La Liga table, level on points with fourth-placed Villarreal.

The Red and Whites are eight points ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis, meanwhile, so they are in an excellent position to secure more Champions League football for next season.

Atletico have once again been strong at home during the current campaign, picking up 34 points from 13 matches, which is the second-best record in the division behind Barcelona.

Real Sociedad, meanwhile, beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday night to advance to the final courtesy of a 2-0 aggregate success.

As a result, it will be Real Sociedad against Atletico in the Copa del Rey final on April 18, so there will be a very interesting undercurrent during Saturday's La Liga affair.

La Real have ambitions of securing a top-six finish in La Liga this season - they are currently in eighth spot in the table, five points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo.

Pellegrino Matarazzo's side beat Mallorca 1-0 in their last league fixture on February 28 and will now be aiming to secure a huge three points away to Atletico.

Real Sociedad held Atletico to a 1-1 draw in the reverse match earlier this season, but they have not actually managed to beat the capital giants since January 2022.

Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

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Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

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Real Sociedad La Liga form:

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Real Sociedad form (all competitions):

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Team News

Pablo Barrios has missed Atletico's last four La Liga matches due to a muscular problem, but the Spaniard could return to the squad this weekend.

Head coach Simeone might have a full selection to choose from on Saturday, and there is expected to be a change in the final third of the field, with Alexander Sorloth in line to replace the experienced Antoine Griezmann.

Alex Baena is pushing to be involved in the first XI, but the Spaniard could again feature off the bench for the Red and Whites on Saturday.

As for Real Sociedad, Brais Mendez is available again following a suspension, but Alvaro Odriozola, Inaki Ruperez and Takefusa Kubo will miss the contest due to injury problems.

Alex Remiro will be back between the sticks after dropping out of the side for the Copa del Rey clash with Athletic, but it could otherwise be an unchanged team.

Mikel Oyarzabal is set to operate through the middle for the Basque outfit, with Alex Barrenetxea and Goncalo Guedes in line to feature in the wide areas.

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Cardoso, Koke, Lookman; Alvarez, Sorloth

Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:

Remiro; Aramburu, Martin, Zubeldia, Gomez; Gorrotxategi, Turrientes; Guedes, Soler, Barrenetxea; Oyarzabal

We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad are good enough to make this a very uncomfortable match for Atletico, and we are expecting it to be close in terms of the scoreline, but Simeone's side should be able to navigate their way to all three points on Saturday.

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