Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid prediction: SPAIN: Copa del Rey betting tips on match 2025-02-25 20:30.
[p]Real Sociedad and Real Madrid both secured wins without conceding in La Liga at the weekend, but the pair now turn their attentions to the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final. Sociedad will be looking to use home advantage here and secure a sixth successive win on their own turf across all competitions – something they’ve not managed in five years.[/p]
[p]This appears far from the ideal fixture to try and achieve that as Sociedad have won just three of the last 18 meetings on home soil (D3, L12). Boss Imanol Alguacil led the club to this trophy in 2019/20 for just their third Copa crown, with his side notably beating Real Madrid 4-3 at the Santiago Bernabéu in the quarter-finals that year en route to overall victory.[/p]
[p]Real Madrid will be out to avoid a repeat as they hunt down a 21st Copa del Rey success, though they trail Barcelona (31) and Athletic Club (24) on this stage. Their most recent triumph in this competition came in 2022/23, and legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti will be confident of masterminding a repeat as his side continue to hit their stride, boasting a six-match unbeaten run across all competitions (W4, D2).[/p]
[p]Ancelotti also possesses a strong personal H2H record against Sociedad (W8, D1, L2), with his side scoring at least twice in eight of those matches. That win column could well be boosted on the road, where Los Blancos have been beaten just once since mid-December (W8, D2), scoring 3+ goals eight times therein, so their superstar-laden attack will take some stopping at the Reale Arena. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Takefusa Kubo was on target for Sociedad against Leganés at the weekend, but he’s only scored once in 11 previous H2Hs with former side Madrid (W2, D2, L7), though that goal came in a 2-0 win on this ground in in 2022/23. Luka Modrić found the net in quite spectacular fashion on Sunday, with his long-range volley against Girona extending his own record as Los Blancos’ oldest-ever scorer.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Sociedad have scored inside 25 minutes in five of their last six matches. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]