Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid: Preview, Odds, Predictions (May 2)
Initial Thoughts
Real Madrid have bigger fish to fry ahead of Tuesday night’s league clash against Real Sociedad. Could that give Sociedad the advantage as the basque side close in on European football next season?
The Narrative
With Barcelona currently 11 points clear at the top of table with six games left to play, only a spectacular collapse from the Catalan giants would give Real Madrid any chance of claiming a 36th league title this season.
After occupying the top spot for eight of the first ten weeks of the season, Real have been playing catch up ever since.
Ancelotti’s side dropped into 2nd place in the wake of a 3-2 loss away to Rayo Vallecano in November and
Los Blancos have dropped points in just under half of their 20 league games since that defeat.
But if they’ve faltered in the La Liga, Real’s cup exploits have been second to none. On Saturday Ancelotti’s men will line up against Osasuna in the final of the Copa del Rey final, before welcoming Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
With their minds occupied by deep runs in those two cup competitions, could Real Madrid take their eyes off the prize ahead of a trip to Reale Arena to face Real Sociedad on Tuesday?
Imanol Alguacil’s side are strengthening their claim for European football next season, after cementing their fourth place position in the table with another important win last weekend.
Real Sociedad beat Madrid’s Copa del Rey opponents Osasuna 2-0 away on Friday, meaning the Basque side come into tomorrow night’s matchup aiming to make it four games unbeaten in the league.
Five points ahead of 5th place Villareal, Sociedad are seeking a return to Champions League for a first time in ten years, and even a single point against Ancelloti’s men on Tuesday night would represent another major step towards that goal.
Nuts and Bolts
Although Los Blancos haven’t been defeated by Real Sociedad in any of the last four La Liga campaigns, the points were shared last time these side met in a a tight 0-0 draw at the Bernabeu in January,
Both slides come into Tuesday’s matchup on the back of commanding wins in the league, with Sociedad seeing off Osasuna without conceding and Karim Benzema hitting a hatrick in Real’s 4-2 victory at home to Almería.
That was Benzema's THIRD hat-tricks of the month, and saw the Frenchman move up to fourth place on La Liga's list of all-time leading scorers.
But while Los Blancos have outscored every team in the league this season, with 69 goals in their 32 league games and counting, Real have failed to win two La Liga fixtures on the bounce across a ten game stretch reaching back to since early February.
Real Sociedad have racked up two wins and a draw in their last three league outings. And their back line has shown real resilience as well, with Alguacil’s side conceding only once in their last 270 minutes of top flight football.
Homestand Picks
All odds courtesy of Northstar Bets
There’s a good chance Real Mardrid come into this game distracted by their cup competitions, and with the Real Sociedad defense looking solid another draw looks likely here.
Benzema Over 1.5 shots on target (+143)
With three hat tricks in April alone, we’re backing the Frenchman to register at least two shots on target tomorrow night.
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