Real Sociedad - Real Madrid predictions and free betting tips [26/04/2024]

On Friday, 26th April, in the 33-rd round of the Spanish La Liga, Real Sociedad will host Real Madrid on their home ground. The team headed by Carlo Ancelotti holds a leading position in the league table, having a solid 11-point lead over the following Barcelona, while the Basques are vying for European cup qualification and have not yet suffered a defeat in April.

Predicted Line-ups

Real Sociedad: Remiro; Odriozola, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Galan; Benat, Zubimendi, Merino; Kubo, Oyarzabal, Barrenetxea.
Real Madrid: Lunin; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, F Garcia; Modric, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Diaz, Joselu.

Stadium

The clash will take place in San Sebastián at the Reale Arena.

Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad has every chance of making it to the European cups at the end of the current season. Imanol Alguacil's team is in sixth place overall and is three points ahead of the following Real Betis. After being knocked out from the Champions League by PSG and a semi-final fiasco against Mallorca in the Copa Del Rey, the striped set themselves the task of qualifying for the Europa League through the national championship. In the last five rounds, Real Sociedad has not lost, albeit they've played to a draw twice in a row - against Almeria (2:2) and Getafe (1:1) on the pitch of Coliseum Alfonso Pérez last weekend.

Barrenchea opened the score in the very debut of the meeting, but the "Azulones" soon responded with a goal from Rodriguez. Prior to that, the Basques won thrice - against Alaves with a minimal lead (0:1), Cadiz (2:0), and Granada (2:3). It's important to note that Alguacil’s squad has won only six out of 15 home games this season, racking up 24 points in 15 matches at the Reale Arena. 

Real Madrid

Last week, Real Madrid knocked out Man City from the Champions League quarter-finals, thereby avenging last year’s fiasco in the semi-finals against Pep Guardiola's team. Moreover, a few days later, los Blancos achieved success in El Clásico against Barcelona (3:2) at Santiago Bernabeu. Kristensen scored for Catalans in the 3rd minute, but Vinicius restored parity in the middle of the first half; Fermin Lopez again got an advantage for Barca an hour into the game, but Madrid responded with goals from Lucas Vasquez and Bellingham.

This victory allowed Carlo Ancelotti's team to pull away by 11 points from the Blaugranas, making the 36th La Liga championship seem almost certain. It’s no surprise that Real is the best club in La Liga in away matches (having collected 37 points in 16 encounters, netting 30 times and conceding 13). Real's fans will definitely be pleased by the fact that their favourites have not left the pitch scoreless in all matches across all tournaments since 5th November (a goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano). Alaba and Courtois will be missing due to injuries, while Ferland Mendy is also out due to a muscle strain. 

Head-to-Head

This season, Sociedad suffered a loss against Real with a score of 2:1 at Bernabeu, but in the last year's home encounter, the striped beat the capital team (2:0).

Prediction for the match 'Real Sociedad' vs 'Real Madrid'

Several days before the first match in the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich and an 11-point advantage over Barcelona, Ancelotti might give a rest to his key players. Sociedad needs to accumulate as many points as possible to solidify their place at the 6th position and make it to the next UEFA Europa League draw. The striped have not been defeated this April and can count on the support of the home stands, which makes betting on a victory for the Basques with a handicap of 0 reasonable.

Prediction for totals

As stated before, los Blancos will play with a sub-optimal line-up and have a comfortable handicap over the chasing Barcelona - the championship title is already in the visitors’ bag. I'd put a bet on the individual total of the Blancos being less than 1.5 goals.

Prediction for corners

The hosts are more motivated and will play with the support of their home crowd. I believe that Alguacil's men will take initiative and win on corners (handicap 0).

Prediction for yellow cards

Neither of the teams is known for excessive roughness on the field in the current campaign, so I'd predict a total amount of yellow cards being less than 4.5.

Scoreline prediction

I'd bet on the exact score of the match being 2:1 in favour of Real Sociedad.