- 1 Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad: 15 meetings, one Basque win
- 2 Real Madrid: still a bit rusty, but the bench is already doing damage
- 3 Real Sociedad: no signings, no goals, a season that needs rebooting
- 4 La Liga prediction Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information that can change
- 8 Your job
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad: 15 meetings, one Basque win 
Real Sociedad have not beaten Real Madrid since May 2023. Across the last 15 meetings in all competitions, the Basques have managed just one win.
This clash takes place on Wednesday, August 26 at the Santiago Bernabeu, with kick-off at 9:30pm Spanish time. Technically, it is a first-round fixture that was pushed back because Real had several players involved deep into the 2026 World Cup.
Madrid opened their league campaign with a 2-1 win away at Espanyol. The winner came in the 90th minute, scored by 21-year-old Carlos Espi on his debut in white.
Real Sociedad, meanwhile, were beaten 1-0 at Benito Villamarin by Real Betis. Rodrigo Riquelme netted the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute.
The title race pressure is already hanging over Madrid’s shoulders: Barcelona thrashed Elche 5-0 in their opener. There is little room for error for Jose Mourinho, who is juggling three La Liga games in eight days.
That tight schedule is the only real question mark around the fixture. Otherwise, this is a squad with no summer signings and no goals heading to the league’s most stacked side.
Real Madrid: still a bit rusty, but the bench is already doing damage 
One official league outing, one 2-1 win snatched in stoppage time. The points tally is perfect. The performance? Much less so.
The Cornella script told us two things: the patterns are not fully there yet, but the squad depth is already bailing them out. Espi settled it in the 90th minute when the game was stuck at 1-1.
The 2026 summer window was busy. Yan Diomande, Marc Cucurella, Carlos Espi, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva all arrived in the Spanish capital, and Mourinho is not expected to do much more before the deadline.
The treatment room is still crowded at the back: Eder Militao, Raul Asencio and Ferland Mendy are out, along with Rodrygo, who has a knee issue. Endrick, Thiago Pitarch and Aurelien Tchouameni are among the doubts.
Jude Bellingham’s case will be decided late, with the Englishman finishing the match against Espanyol with ice on his ankle. Cucurella should start, while Diomande is likely to be on the bench again.
Then there is the blank on the scoresheet, which is becoming a real talking point at home. Kylian Mbappe has yet to score since the restart. A striker of that level against a defence that just got shut out without reply? That is the mismatch at the heart of this one.
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Real Sociedad: no signings, no goals, a season that needs rebooting 
A 1-0 defeat in Seville to start the season, and not a single goal to show for it. So the first big Basque takeaway is all about the attack.
That blank sheet extends a 2025-26 campaign that ended in 10th place, well below the club’s standards. There is room for improvement, but numbers have a nasty habit of telling the truth.
Pellegrino Matarazzo is working with exactly the same squad as he had in May: Real Sociedad did not bring in a single player during the 2026 summer window. They did, however, manage to keep Mikel Oyarzabal, who was tracked by Barcelona.
Used off the bench against Betis, the Spain international and captain should return to the starting XI at the Bernabeu. He is the main source of almost all their attacking threat.
In the medical room, Alvaro Odriozola remains a long-term absentee after his knee injury. Pablo Marin, Jon Gorrotxategi and Goncalo Guedes, all carrying muscle problems, will be assessed before kick-off.
There is another factor in squad management: Real Sociedad will be in the Europa League league phase thanks to last season’s Copa del Rey triumph. Rotation is going to become a fact of life for a side that did not strengthen.
The record against Madrid also tells its own story: 38 wins in 185 meetings, none since May 2023, and six straight league defeats in this matchup.
Expected Real Madrid line-up: Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Bernardo Silva, Valverde; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe
Expected Real Sociedad line-up: Remiro; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Martin, Gomez; Herrera, Soler; Kubo, Sucic, Barrenetxea; Oyarzabal
La Liga prediction Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
Our prediction: Real Madrid to win with a -1.5 goal handicap
A side that added nobody and failed to score in its first outing is heading to the Bernabeu to face a squad boosted by six arrivals. The gap in resources is just too big to settle for the outright result.
The last six league meetings have all gone Madrid’s way, and Real Sociedad have not taken anything here since May 2023. Add Mbappe still sitting on zero goals and a Bernabeu waiting for its first game of the season, and the pressure on the visitors’ back line should be relentless.
Take Real Madrid by two goals. The price is still usable, and the difference in attacking quality makes the obvious play look a bit too short.
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