Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad prediction: SPAIN: Copa del Rey betting tips on match 2025-03-31 19:30.
[p]Real Madrid take aim at reaching the Copa del Rey final for only the second time in 11 seasons, and they are well placed after winning the first leg of this semi-final against Real Sociedad 1-0 away from home. Manager Carlo Ancelotti benched some of his stars for Saturday’s 3-2 win over LeganĂ©s, enabling VinĂcius JĂşnior, AurĂ©lien TchouamĂ©ni and Federico Valverde a little more time to recover from the international break and stay fresh for this midweek affair.[/p]
[p]With those big-hitters ready and available for selection, Los Blancos will fancy their chances of extending a sequence of four straight H2H wins. The 20-time winners of this competition are unlikely to take anything for granted considering that they needed extra-time to see off Celta Vigo in their only previous Copa del Rey home game this term (W 5-2) and had to come from behind to win in La Liga at the weekend.[/p]
[p]Real Sociedad arrive at the Bernabéu boosted by Saturday’s timely 2-1 win over Valladolid, a result that finally ended their six-game winless run in all competitions (D2, L4). While they’re in more familiar territory at this stage of the season as they also reached the semi-finals last term, La Real are up against it needing to win if they’re to reach their first final since winning this competition in 2019/20.[/p]
[p]As he seeks to inspire a turnaround after losing the first leg, manager Imanol Alguacil may well choose to remind his players of the club’s impressive 4-3 win here at the quarter-final stage of that victorious Copa de Rey campaign. Another morale-boosting statistic he could point to is their strong travelling form as Sociedad have not lost on the road in this competition since Barcelona beat them in January 2023 (W8, D1).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Endrick has netted in each of Madrid’s last three Copa del Rey games, with two of the goals arriving before the 30th minute. Sociedad’s joint-top scorer in the Copa del Rey this season, Ander Barrenetxea, also likes to make an early impact, with his three goals in the competition all scored inside the opening 25 minutes[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Real Madrid scored first in all four of their Copa del Rey matches this season, with three of those goals arriving before the 20th minute.[/p]
[p][i]Written by John Pennington[/i][/p]