Real dominated Espanyol, but couldn’t grind their hosts down until the 90th minute. Will their first home game of 2026/27 be more straightforward?
Best bets for Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
- Real Madrid - Real Madrid (half-time/full-time) at odds of 1.90 with 10bet
- Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals at odds of 1.95 with 10bet
- Kylian Mbappé 3+ shots on target at odds of 2.30 with 10bet
Our analysis: Form of both teams
- Score prediction: Real Madrid 3-1 Real Sociedad
- Goalscorers prediction: Real Madrid: Mbappé, Vinícius Jr, Bellingham - Real Sociedad: Barrenetxea
Real Madrid host Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday night in a rescheduled opening-day fixture. This will be José Mourinho's first home match of his second spell in charge.
Los Blancos arrive unbeaten. Four wins and a draw from five pre-season matches, closing with a 3-0 win over Schalke, were followed by Carlos Espí's 90th-minute winner at Espanyol. The three points are typically all that matter on the opening day, but Real did dominate in all aspects of the match.
For Wednesday evening, Mourinho remains without Rodrygo, Éder Militão, Ferland Mendy and Raúl Asencio. Aurélien Tchouaméni should return to the squad after a muscular problem. Endrick, who is dealing with another muscle issue, is a major doubt.
Sociedad's summer was bleak. Their pre-season consisted of four defeats in their last five friendlies. This included a 3-1 loss to Chelsea before Rodrigo Riquelme's 62nd-minute strike settled a 1-0 loss at Betis on Friday.
Álvaro Odriozola is out until November with a knee injury. Gorrotxategi missed the opener, while Pablo Marín and Gonçalo Guedes are recovered but not yet match-ready. Mikel Oyarzabal, back late from World Cup duty, is still building fitness and may only be fit for bench duties.
Probable lineups for Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
Real Madrid expected lineup: Courtois, Dumfries, Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella, Valverde, Bernardo Silva, Güler, Bellingham, Vinícius Jr, Mbappé
Real Sociedad expected lineup: Remiro, Aramburu, Zubeldia, Jon Martín, Sergio Gómez; Herrera, Soler, Kubo, Sučić, Barrenetxea, Óskarsson
Los Blancos to waste little time
Mourinho's side wasted no time at Espanyol. Bellingham opened the scoring inside ten minutes. The trend against La Real is well established. Sociedad haven't won at the Bernabéu in La Liga since January 2019.
Sociedad have conceded in every one of their seven pre-season friendlies, so an early breach is probable. However, Real needed a helping hand from the bench with Carlos Espí’s 90th-minute winner against Espanyol.
Nevertheless, Real have scored first in six of their last seven meetings with Sociedad. They’ve also led at the interval in four of their last five contests.
- Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad Bet 1: Real Madrid - Real Madrid (half-time/full-time) at odds of 1.90 with 10bet
Value on goal action at both ends
The Bernabéu staging of this fixture reliably opens up. February’s 4-1 victory fitted the mould. Gonzalo García scored early before Oyarzabal equalised from the spot, with Madrid then pulling away.
Mourinho's back line remains patched together, with Militão, Asencio and Mendy all unavailable. Even Espanyol found a route through it on Saturday.
Sociedad have enough of a threat through Kubo and Barrenetxea to put that to the test. Over 2.5 goals have occurred in over 55% of their last nine meetings. Both teams have scored in over 66% of those match-ups. Backing both outcomes at a 51.28% probability does feel generous, given Madrid’s defensive vulnerability.
- Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad Bet 2: Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals at odds of 1.95 with 10bet
Mbappé is ready to rack up the shots
This is the standout of the three. Mbappé generated ten attempts at Espanyol and hit the target three times. He was twice denied by Dmitrovic before heading the rebound just wide from close range.
Mbappé was hunting shots from everywhere, including a free-kick. Sociedad will spend long spells defending their box. Matarazzo has openly admitted his squad need reinforcement in defence.
Mbappé averaged 4.7 shots per game last season. With Madrid certain to dominate territory at home, a 43.48% probability looks generous for a line he cleared four days ago.
- Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad Bet 3: Kylian Mbappé 3+ shots on target at odds of 2.30 with 10bet