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Match Preview
After last week’s embarrassing draw against Levante, which was not made any better following Cristiano Ronaldo’s antics on the bench, Real Madrid is set to host to fourteenth place Real Sociedad at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Sociedad will be traveling to Madrid after winning their previous match, 5-0, against league bottom-feeders Deportivo La Coruna. During Sociedad’s thrashing of Coruna, former Real Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi was able to collect himself a late second-half brace.
As for Madrid, they are preparing to host Sociedad after enjoying a week that included celebrating Ronaldo’s 33rd second birthday and taking the day off following training being canceled due to the snow.
Injuries
It is a bit odd to say that Real Madrid has no injuries, but it is true – for the time being. The only recorded injuries in the squad are Jesus Vallejo (hamstring) and Dani Ceballos (ankle) who both are expected to make a full recovery very soon.
Potential XIs
Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema
Real Madrid
It is hard to see any changes to Real’s lineup. Although last weekend was a fluke, there are no other players more equipped than this eleven to return to the club to its past winning ways.
Real Sociedad
Rulli; Navas, de la Bella, Elustondo, Odriozola; Illarramendi, Prieto, Oyarzabal, Zubeldia; Juanmi, Jose
Having won, 5-0, last weekend, it would be surprising to see Real Sociedad put out a different starting eleven.
Prediction
2-1 Real Madrid-Sociedad
The inconsistency of Real Madrid is enough to drive any fan crazy. Going from scoring seven goals one week to losing against a bottom league side the next to running circles around Valencia to drawing against Levante, how can any Madridista remain calm?
With Madrid’s match against Paris Saint-Germain set to take place during the midweek, it would not be surprising to see them take this contest lightly. They have had a full week of rest and celebration so anything besides a win would be upsetting but I would assume everyone would much rather have Madrid be ready for the Champions League instead of a La Liga match against a worse side. Rotation is limited with this Madrid side so expect the usual starters to make an appearance.
As for Sociedad, they did win their last game against Deportivo La Coruna, but they have been underwhelming in every other league contest. People should expect a tough battle but at the end of the day, this should be a Madrid win.
Fans should keep their eye on Sociedad’s right-back Alvaro Odriozola who has been reported to be on the radar for Real Madrid for quite some time. Our very own Lucas Navarrete has the full report here.
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA
Date: 2/10/2018
Time: 20:45 CET, 02:45am EST, 11:45 am Pacific.
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain.
Available TV: BeIN Sports (USA), BeIN La Liga (Spain).
Available Streaming: BeIN Sports (USA),Fubo.TV (EVERY Real Madrid game with a high-quality and legal stream, click here to sign up and benefit from a winter discount for new members and Managing Madrid readers).