Real Madrid – Real Sociedad

Real Madrid hosts Real Sociedad at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in a game from the 1/4-finals of the Copa del Rey. We expect a pretty competitive match here, so let’s take a look at it and see what’s going on with these two teams.

Real Madrid are chasing their first Copa del Rey final since 2014 when they beat Gerardo Martino’s Barcelona and won the trophy for 19th time in their history. For one reason or another, Los Blancos had not been very successful in the competition in the last few years. Their manager Zinedine Zidane have never won this trophy so far, so this is a good motivation for him to try to do it this season.

During the 1/8-finals Real Madrid were more than convincing. They faced Segunda Division’s Real Zaragoza at the Estadio de la Romareda and scored four goals for an impressive 4-0 win. Raphael Varane opened the score for Madrid, while Lucas Vasquez, Vinicius and Karim Benzema finished the job.

Real Madrid won all of their last five matches in all competitions, which should tell us that Los Blancos are in a pretty solid shape at the moment. This game comes in a good moment for them.

Real Sociedad were also convincing in their 1/8-finals game, hosting Osasuna at the Reale Arena and achieving a 3-1 win. Alexander Isak, Martin Odegaard and Alexander Isak again secured the win for the Basques. La Real are performing well under the management of Imanol Alguacil, so they have some perspectives for a really successul season.

The good news in Real Madrid’s camp are related to Eden Hazard’s fitness. There’s some chance for the Belgian star to return on the pitch against Real Sociedad on Thursday. But it’s still not clear what Zinedine Zidane will do after Hazard’s long recovery from an injury.