Two teams expected to be in the hunt for a top-four finish in La Liga come the end of the season will lock horns on Saturday evening, with Real Sociedad welcoming Atletico Madrid to the Reale Arena.
Real Sociedad, who are eighth in the table, will enter the contest off the back of a 1-0 victory over Elche, while sixth-placed Atletico were winners by the same scoreline at Valencia in their last match.
Match preview
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Life without Alexander Isak begun for Real Sociedad at Elche on Saturday evening, but the Basque side did not miss the now Newcastle United forward, recording a 1-0 victory at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero, with Brais Mendez netting the only goal of the contest in the 20th minute.
Imanol Alguacil's side started their La Liga season with a 1-0 victory at Cadiz before losing 4-1 at home to Barcelona on August 21, and a total of six points from three games has left them in eighth spot in the table.
Real Sociedad, who will begin their Europa League campaign away to Manchester United next Thursday, finished sixth in La Liga last season, eight points behind fourth-place Sevilla.
The White and Blues are outsiders when it comes to a possible top-four finish this term, but they will be expecting to challenge high up the division with the likes of Sevilla, Real Betis and Villarreal.
Real Sociedad have not actually beaten Atletico in La Liga since September 2019, and the corresponding match between the two sides last term ended in a 2-1 success for Diego Simeone's side.
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Atletico, meanwhile, were 1-0 winners at Valencia in their last match on August 29, with Antoine Griezmann netting the only goal in the 66th minute of the contest at Mestalla.
Simeone's team opened their campaign with an impressive 3-0 victory at Getafe, but they lost 2-0 at home to Villarreal one week later, so a total of six points has left them in sixth position in the table.
Atletico will also be in European action next week, beginning their Champions League campaign at home to Porto, but the capital outfit cannot afford to take their eye off the ball in La Liga, especially against a talented Real Sociedad outfit.
The Red and Whites, who have only lost once to their opponents this weekend since April 2018, finished third in La Liga last season, 15 points behind the champions Real Madrid.
Simeone's side will find it tough to launch a serious challenge for the title this season considering Real Madrid's strength and Barcelona's obvious improvement, but they will be expecting to finish as potentially the best of the rest, with the club establishing themselves as a top-four side since 2013.
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Team News
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Real Sociedad will again be missing Martin Merquelanz, Carlos Fernandez and Diego Rico for this contest, with all three players likely to be out until the end of September.
Mikel Oyarzabal is also out until at least October with a serious knee injury, but the Basque outfit did not pick up any fresh issues in their success over Elche last time out.
As a result, it would not be a surprise to see Alguacil send the same starting XI onto the field, with David Silva supporting Takefusa Kubo and Mohamed-Ali Cho in the final third of the field.
However, new signing from Almeria, Umar Sadiq, is also pushing to be involved from the first whistle.
As for Atletico, Nahuel Molina remains suspended, while Stefan Savic is out until the middle of September with a thigh problem.
Sergio Reguilon is a new signing at Wanda Metropolitano from Tottenham Hotspur, with the defender joining on loan, but he is currently on the sidelines following groin surgery.
Yannick Carrasco is set to be involved despite the recent speculation surrounding his future, while Alvaro Morata and Joao Felix are again likely to feature in the final third of the field.
Griezmann and Thomas Lemar are among the options for change, while Matheus Cunha and Angel Correa are also pushing to be included in Simeone's first XI.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Gorosabel, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Munoz; Mendez, Zubimendi, Merino, D Silva; Kubo, Cho
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Llorente, Gimenez, Witsel, Reinildo, Carrasco; De Paul, Kondogbia, Koke; Morata, Felix
We say: Real Sociedad 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Real Sociedad have found it difficult against Atletico in their recent meetings, and we are struggling to back the hosts with any real confidence here. Atletico were strong in their last game against Valencia and should have enough to pick up another three points on Saturday evening.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
