Unbeaten Atletico Madrid will look to secure their fifth win of the new La Liga campaign when they hit the road to face Real Sociedad.
Real Sociedad will look to make it consecutive wins in a row when they host fourth-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
The home team have endured a poor start to the 2024/25 La Liga season. They have only won two out of their eight league outings while suffering four defeats. However , La Real did win their last top-flight outing 3-0 against Valencia.
It was a dominant performance, although just a few days later, they ended up losing to RSC Anderlecht in the UEFA Europa League. Their inconsistency suggests Imanol Alguacil’s men will find it difficult to battle it out with Atletico Madrid.
Diego Simeone’s team might be unbeaten in the league, but the Argentine won’t be happy with the fact that they have already played out four draws. Los Rojiblancos drew against Real Madrid in the derby last weekend but are heading into this one on the back of a 4-0 defeat at the hands of SL Benfica in the UEFA Champions League.
Not many saw that coming and given their recent form, Atletico Madrid do not really seem to be favourites against Real Sociedad despite having a star-studded squad. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Real Sociedad
The home team will be without the services of Hamari Traore, and Arsen Zakharyan. Imanol Alguacil will make quite a few changes to the team that started in their last outing. He is expected to recall all his regular first-choice players.
Real Sociedad will go ahead with the 4-3-3 formation, where Alex Remiro will be in the goal. Jon Aramburu and Javi Lopez will be the full-backs, while Igor Zubeldia and Nayef Aguerd will feature in the heart of the defence.
Martín Zubimendi will feature as the holding midfielder, and he will have the support of Luka Sucic and Sergio Gomez. The trio will try to control the tempo and ensure Atletico Madrid do not dominate the proceedings. Takefusa Kubo and Ander Barrenetxea will feature on the flanks. They will provide width to their attacks, while Mikel Oyarzabal is expected to lead the line.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Remiro; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Aguerd, Javi Lopez; Zubimendi, Sucic, Sergio Gomez; Kubo, Oyarzabal, Barrenetxea
Atletico Madrid
The visitors will be without the services of Cesar Azpilicueta, Robin Le Normand, and Pablo Barrios, Meanwhile, Marcos Llorente is unavailable because of the red card that he picked up against Real Madrid in the derby.
Diego Simeone is expected to make a few changes to the eleven that started against Benfica but he will stick with a back four. Jan Oblak will continue in goal. Nahuel Molina and Reinildo Mandava will retain their spots as the full-backs, while Axel Witsel will start alongside Jose Maria Gimenez in the heart of the defence.
Rodrigo De Paul could feature out wide on the right in this fixture. Conor Gallagher and Koke should take charge in the central area while Samuel Lino is expected to feature on the left flank. In attack, Antoine Griezmann will pair up with summer signing Julian Alvarez.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Oblak; Molina, Witsel, Gimenez, Reinildo; De Paul, Koke, Gallagher, Lino; Alvarez, Griezmann
Key Stats
- Atletico Madrid won the corresponding fixture against Real Sociedad 2-0 last season.
- Diego Simeone’s team have only lost once against the home team in the Spanish top flight since April 2018.
- Atletico Madrid have only won one out of their last four outings in all competitions.
- Meanwhile, Real Sociedad have only won one out of their last six outings across competitions.
- The Basque outfit have lost each of their last three outings against the visitors.
Player to Watch
Julian Alvarez
Atletico Madrid forked out a significant fee to prise Julian Alvarez away from Manchester City in the summer of 2024. While he was on fire during his time in England, the Argentine international has endured a slow start to life in Spain. He only has two league goals so far and will be eager to add to his tally when they take the field against Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Prediction
Real Sociedad 1-3 Atletico Madrid
While it has been a solid start to the new season for Atletico Madrid, they have played out too many draws, and the defeat at the hands of Benfica was a massive blow in the UEFA Champions League. The away side will try and give it their all to secure all three points but might just have to dig deep.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad are not in the best of forms either. They will most likely struggle against Diego Simeone’s team. It will be a closely fought encounter but the Colchoneros should come out on top. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for Simeone and his charges.