Overview
Real Madrid had to wait until the final minutes to win all 3 points against Espanyol in the match last weekend. The two teams drew 1-1 until the 90th minute, before Carlos Espi scored the decisive goal, closing the memorable debut of the 21-year-old striker.
Jose Mourinho's team will continue their La Liga campaign with a confrontation with Real Sociedad. This match was originally scheduled for the opening round but had to be postponed due to some Real Madrid players participating in the final matches at the 2026 World Cup.
After a hard-fought victory against Espanyol, Real Madrid understands that they need to minimize stunts if they want to overcome Barcelona in the championship race. Barcelona started the season with a 5-0 victory over Elche.
Los Blancos have invested heavily in the summer transfer window with a series of new players including Yan Diomande, Marc Cucurella, Carlos Espi, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva.
Mourinho is unlikely to continue making big deals in the last days of the transfer window. The Portuguese coach believes that the current squad is strong enough to compete in all competitions in the 2026-2027 season.
On the opposite side, Real Sociedad had an unsuccessful start when losing to Real Betis 0-1. Rodrigo Riquelme scored the only goal in the 63rd minute, causing the Basque team to suffer defeat in the first match.
Real Sociedad closed La Liga 2025-2026 in 10th place, a performance lower than expected. However, they still qualified for the group stage of the Europa League 2026-2027 thanks to their achievements at the Copa del Rey last season.
Pellegrino Matarazzo's team did not add any new players in the summer, but kept Mikel Oyarzabal. The Spanish striker was once interested by Barcelona.
Head-to-head history is also not on Real Sociedad's side. They have only won 38 out of 185 encounters with Real Madrid. In the most recent encounter in February, Sociedad lost 1-4 at the opponent's home ground.
Real Sociedad has not won against Real Madrid since May 2023. That is also their only victory in the last 15 encounters between the two teams in all competitions, making the upcoming away trip a very big challenge.
Personnel situation
Real Madrid will not have the services of Eder Militao (muscle), Rodrygo (knee), Raul Asencio (legs) and Ferland Mendy (hamstring) in the match against Real Sociedad.
Endrick (muscle), Thiago Pitarch (knee) and Aurelien Tchouameni (muscle) are still uncertain to play. Jude Bellingham also needs to be further checked after having to leave the field at the end of the match against Espanyol.
Marc Cucurella is likely to be given a starting spot, while newcomer Yan Diomande may continue to start the match from the bench.
On Real Sociedad's side, Alvaro Odriozola continues to be absent due to a long-term knee injury. Pablo Marin (muscle), Jon Gorrotxategi (muscle) and Goncalo Guedes (muscle) also need to undergo tests before coach Pellegrino Matarazzo makes a final decision.
Mikel Oyarzabal only came on as a substitute in the defeat to Real Betis, but is likely to return to the starting lineup when Real Sociedad visits Bernabeu.
Expected lineup:
Real Madrid: Courtois, Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella, Bernardo, Valverde, Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius, Mbappe.
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Aramburu, Zubeldia, Martin, Gomez, Herrera, Soler, Kubo, Sucic, Barrenetxea, Oyarzabal.
The match between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad takes place at 2:00 AM on August 27 (Vietnam time).
