Real Madrid will be looking to make it eight straight victories in all competitions when they head to San Sebastian on Saturday night to face Real Sociedad.
Los Blancos are currently top of the table, seven points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, while Real Sociedad sit third in the division, also seven points off the summit.
Match preview
© Reuters
Real Sociedad can be delighted with their 2021-22 La Liga campaign to date, boasting a record of eight wins, five draws and two defeats from 15 matches, which has seen them collect 29 points to sit third in the table.
The Basque outfit are level on points with second-placed Atletico Madrid but are now seven behind leaders Real Madrid, and Los Blancos have the look of a team capable of opening up a big advantage in the coming weeks.
Real Sociedad actually lost at Espanyol in the league last weekend, which followed a 2-1 defeat at Monaco in the Europa League, which has left the La Liga club sweating on a spot in the next round of the European competition ahead of their clash with PSV Eindhoven next week.
Imanol Alguacil's team need to beat PSV to secure second spot in the group and will be desperate to enter that contest off the back of a positive result in the league.
Real Sociedad did manage to return to winning ways in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, though, recording a 4-0 success over Panaderia Pulido to advance to the second round of the competition.
© Reuters
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have been in brilliant form of late, winning each of their last seven matches in all competitions, while they are unbeaten since a 2-1 reverse at Espanyol on October 3.
Los Blancos have already managed to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League and will face Inter Milan next week for the right to finish at the top of Group D.
Carlo Ancelotti's side have been victorious in their last five in the league, meanwhile, including two huge wins over Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao on November 28 and December 1 respectively.
As mentioned, the gap to second-placed Atletico, who have a game in hand, is seven points, and the capital rivals will meet at Bernabeu in the league on December 12.
Real Madrid have not been without their problems this season, but a record of 11 wins, three draws and one defeat from 15 league matches is a very impressive record, and it would be right to consider the capital giants as firm favourites for the title heading into the latter stages of 2021.
- D
- W
- D
- W
- D
- L
- D
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Real Sociedad will again be without the services of Mikel Merino, David Silva, Alex Sola and Nacho Monreal for Saturday evening's clash with the capital giants.
Alexander Isak was named on the bench against Espanyol last weekend but will come back into the side for this match, with the Sweden international potentially being partner by Mikel Oyarzabal in the final third.
The absences of Merino and David Silva are serious blows for Real Sociedad, and the injuries should allow Martin Zubimendi and Ander Guevara to continue in the middle of the park.
As for Real Madrid, Dani Ceballos and Gareth Bale remain unavailable for selection, but the league leaders are otherwise in excellent shape in terms of their first-team squad.
Dani Carvajal was rested against Athletic on Wednesday night but should be back in the side here, while Rodrygo is likely to be given the nod over Marco Asensio as part of a front three.
Ancelotti has options in midfield, with the likes of Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga pushing to start, but it would not be a surprise to see Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro line up once again.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Gorosabel, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Rico; Portu, Zubimendi, Guevara, Januzaj; Isak, Oyarzabal
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius
We say: Real Sociedad 1-2 Real Madrid
Real Madrid's impressive winning run will come to an end at some point, but we are expecting Los Blancos to triumph here. Real Sociedad deserve a lot of respect for their form this season, but the Basque side are missing two influential midfielders, and we fancy Los Blancos to edge a close contest on Saturday.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Madrid win with a probability of 54.89%. A draw had a probability of 24.7% and a win for Real Sociedad had a probability of 20.44%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Madrid win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.1%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.69%) and 1-2 (9.52%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.65%), while for a Real Sociedad win it was 1-0 (7.14%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 10.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Real Madrid would win this match.
