Real Madrid will be bidding to make it three straight La Liga victories when they continue their title charge at home to Real Sociedad on Saturday night.
Los Blancos are currently top of the division, six points clear of second-placed Sevilla, while Real Sociedad occupy sixth, just one point behind fourth-placed Barcelona.
Much of the talk in recent days has been about Real Madrid’s Champions League last-16 second leg against Paris Saint-Germain at Bernabeu next week, where Carlo Ancelotti’s side will look to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.
However, Los Blancos cannot afford to take their eye off the ball in La Liga, as second-placed Sevilla could have closed the gap to three points by the time that this match kicks off on Saturday night.
Real Madrid have responded impressively to their shock 1-0 defeat at Getafe at the start of January, winning four of their last six league matches, including their last two against Alaves and Rayo Vallecano, while they have not conceded a single goal in La Liga since January 23.
Ancelotti’s team have a huge end to March, following the clash against PSG with league matches against Mallorca and Barcelona, and it will be interesting to see whether the Madrid giants pull clear at the summit, with Sevilla desperately trying to stay close to the current leaders.
Real Madrid ran out 2-0 winners over Real Sociedad in the reverse match earlier this season, but the points were shared in a 1-1 draw when they last locked horns at Bernabeu last term.
Real Sociedad, meanwhile, were eliminated from the Europa League at the end of last month, losing 3-1 at home to RB Leipzig in the second leg of their knockout round playoff fixture.
The Basque outfit have responded impressively to the European disappointment, though, winning their last two in the league, beating Osasuna by a single goal at the end of February before recording a 2-0 victory over Mallorca on Wednesday evening to return to sixth spot in the table.
Real Sociedad have now collected 44 points from their 26 league matches this season, which has left them just one point behind fourth-placed Barcelona, so a Champions League finish is still open this term.
The White and Blues have won five, drawn four and lost four of their 13 league games on their travels this season, while they have a recent Bernabeu success to their name, recording a 2-0 victory in January 2019.
Head coach Imanol Alguacil will be hoping that Real Madrid’s focus on the huge European fixture with PSG will allow Real Sociedad to collect a huge three points, as they push towards the top four at the business end of the season.
Real Madrid La Liga form:
WDWDWW
Real Madrid form (all competitions):
LWDLWW
Real Sociedad La Liga form:
DDWLWW
Real Sociedad form (all competitions):
WDLLWW
We say: Real Madrid 2-1 Real Sociedad
This has all of the makings of a very, very interesting game of football, and Real Sociedad will certainly believe that they are capable of picking up a positive result on Saturday. Sevilla will be hoping that the Basque side can do them a favour, but we believe that Los Blancos will shade a close match in Madrid.