Real Sociedad VS Real Madrid Match Prediction

Real Madrid have won 13 of their last 15 matches against Real Sociedad in all competitions, so the head-to-head record is strongly in favour of Zidane's men for this opening match of the season. Last year in La Liga, Real Madrid won this game 3-1 at home but it was a lot tighter when they visited San Sebastian later in the season, with a single goal enough to claim the three points.

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Real Sociedad v Real Madrid: Prediction

Real Madrid ended last year on a terrific run of form, winning their last 12 games of the La Liga season, although it was not enough to pip their great rivals Barcelona to the league title. Zidane's team should be able to continue that sequence against a team that looks to be in line for a battle against the drop this season, unless new signings can be made in the next couple of weeks.

Real Sociedad v Real Madrid: Betting Tips

Odds of 4/5 on Real Madrid look to be extremely generous given how dominant they have been in La Liga over the last few months and Zidane's team will want to put immediate pressure on Barcelona in the race for the title. There does not appear to be a lot of value in the price of 15/4 on Real Sociedad to win, nor on the 14/5 for the draw in this match.

Real Madrid to be ahead at half-time and full-time looks juicy at 15/8 considering this is a bet that has landed in five of their last seven matches in the league, with Real Madrid -1 also recommended at 2/1 on the handicap market for this match.

The arrival of Geronimo Rulli means Real Sociedad have a new number one goalkeeper for the La Liga season, while they have also brought in Juanmi and Willian Jose, both of whom could be in line to make their debuts in this match. Some of their most important players are out of this match through injury however, with Sergio Canales the most notable of the absentees. Carlos Martínez, Imanol Agirretxe and Raul Navas are also expected to miss this match through injury.

Real Sociedad likely XI:

An unusually quiet season in the transfer market means Zinedine Zidane is mostly left to work with the same squad he had last year, although Alvaro Morata has returned to the Santiago Bernabeu after a successful two-season spell at Juventus. Keylor Navas is injured for this game so Kiko Casilla is expected to deputise in goal, with other absentees including Fábio Coentrão and Mateo Kovacic, with Luka Modric sitting this one out as a result of suspension.

Real Madrid likely XI:

On paper this should be a relatively easy first match of the season for Real Madrid, who are hoping to go one step better than last season\'s second-place finish, even though they were able to win the Champions League by beating rivals Atletico Madrid in the final. Real Madrid may not have all their star names available for this match, but they should still win easily.

Real Madrid have been winning at both half-time and full-time in five of their previous seven La Liga matches.