Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid Prediction: Mbappe to score at odds against

Real Madrid enter Saturday's contest in a rare position of being four points shy of the early leaders, Barcelona, who have started the season in sensational style. This one is a 20:00 kick-off, live on Premier Sports 1.

Our La Liga expert Mark Sochon thinks they win a low-scorer and fancies their French superstar to find the back of the net at surprisingly decent odds. Check out all his betting tips as he takes you through his Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid Predictions...

Real Madrid return from the international break with four points to make up on Barcelona at the top of La Liga. That’s not a margin that will be giving Carlo Ancelotti sleepless nights just yet, but he certainly won’t want it to grow any bigger. 

On paper at least, this is the kind of fixture where there is the potential for Real Madrid to drop more points. Real Sociedad have finished in the top six of La Liga in each of the last five seasons, with Imanol Alguacil doing a fantastic job at his boyhood club. 

With an incredible knack for developing young, local talent, there’s much to admire about La Real and the way they do things, but there are concerns in San Sebastian that this is shaping up to be a difficult season. 

They sold Robin Le Normand and Mikel Merino in the summer, two key players in a successful era that has seen the Basque club establish themselves at the top end of the division, even qualifying for the Champions League in 2023. While Martín Zubimendi, another key figure, did turn down a move to Liverpool, it’s pretty clear that Real Sociedad are in something of a rebuilding phase.  

Their early results and performances suggest that process may take some time. They’ve lost both home games so far this season, suffering shock defeats to both Rayo Vallecano and Alavés, two sides they’d ordinarily expect to dispatch at the Reale Arena. 

There was an away win at newly promoted Espanyol thanks to a fine solo goal from Take Kubo, but they were really disappointing in their last match, having just one attempt in 90 minutes in a goalless draw away to Getafe, while their opponents had 16. 

Those performances suggest this may not be as stiff a test as Real Madrid are used to on this ground. Los Blancos have had issues of their own, dropping points in their two away games at Mallorca and Las Palmas so far, but after the briefest of pre-seasons, it was perhaps inevitable that they would not come flying out of the blocks. 

Match sharpness should be less of an issue four games in, but improving the balance of the team is the bigger concern moving forwards for Ancelotti. 

That hasn’t looked quite right so far, although there was a step in the right direction last time out, with Kylian Mbappé scoring two quick-fire goals in the Second Half, to seal a 2-0 home win over Real Betis. Those were the first strikes of the Frenchman’s La Liga career and he’d have been relieved to break his duck before the international break. 

As is the case with most of Europe’s elite clubs, Real Madrid training would have been a quiet affair over the past fortnight, with their players jetting off all around the world to represent their countries. 

Vinícius Júnior, Endrick and Rodrygo all started in attack for Brazil in Paraguay on Tuesday night, but it was a frustrating affair for the Madrid trio who fired blanks in a 1-0 defeat.  

Fede Valverde was also in World Cup qualifying action in South America, but returned to Spain early after picking up a suspension, while a host of Real Madrid and Real Sociedad players were involved in Nations League matches in Europe. 

Team News: 

Both sides have a number of injury problems heading into this match. Real Sociedad are missing midfield regular Brais Méndez to a fractured metatarsal, while first choice right-back Hamari Traore has torn his ACL and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. 

Arsen Zakharyan is also out, while the hosts have a doubt over key forward Mikel Oyarzabal. New €20m striker Orri Óskarsson could make his full debut up front as a result, while Nayef Aguerd could feature for the first time in defence after moving on loan from West Ham. 

As for Real Madrid, they’ll be without Jude Bellingham again with the Englishman yet to fully recover from his injury. Aurélien Tchouaméni and Dani Ceballos have also been ruled out of this game, which leaves them really short on midfield options given Eduardo Camavinga was already sidelined. 

Ancelotti may respond to those selection issues by bringing either Arda Güler or Brahim Díaz into the side in an advanced midfield role with Vinicus, Mbappé and Rodrygo still likely to form the front three. 

Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid Odds

Real Madrid head into the game as the 7/10 favourites in the Match Result market. Real Sociedad can be backed at 4/1, while the Draw is on offer at 11/4. 

Both teams to score is priced at 5/6 for this game. Recent clashes between this pair in the Basque Country haven’t produced that many goals though, and you can back Under 2.5 goals at 4/5, a winning bet in each of the last four meetings at the Reale Arena. 

Los Blancos have tended to do much of their damage after the break this season. Eight of their nine competitive goals this term have come in the Second Half and you can back Real Madrid to win the Second Half at Evens here. The second period is also priced at 21/20 to be the highest scoring half overall. 

If you fancy the hosts to be competitive, Real Sociedad or Draw is on offer at 23/20 in the Double Chance market. You can also back La Real to score Over 0.5 goals at 4/7 while they are priced at 7/4 to win either half. 

Their big money new signing Orri Óskarsson is on offer at 16/5 to score at some point on his home debut, while you can back Vinicius to score anytime at 7/4.

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com