Real Sociedad – Real Madrid. Valeri Karpin’s prediction

Real Madrid are coming off the back of a tough away game in midweek against Manchester City in the Champions League, and thus a lack of fitness may well be evident. The usual answer to this would be to rest key players so that they are fit for the return leg of the Champions League semi-final; however, things are not that simple. The Royals are once again back in with a shot at the title, and, although they are seemingly the third favourites right now, they will want to continue winning domestically in order to keep the pressure on both Atletico and Barcelona.

Real Madrid are one point below their rivals with three games to go, and its unlikely that neither Barcelona nor Atletico will drop any points at this stage. This is why I think that Real Madrid will indeed place all their bets on the Champions League, and therefore concentrate on preparing for the 2nd leg against Man City. With this in mind, Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to miss the game vs Real Sociedad.

Real Sociedad are a team that now have nothing to fight for, but they surely want to steal some points from one of La Liga’s big boys, just as they did against Barcelona a few weeks ago. Playing in San Sebastian is never an easy ride for any visiting team, so I think that Real Madrid, resting their key players, will take a share of the points here.

A secondary option in this one would be to back both teams to score, or add it to a BTTS accumulator at least. The price isn’t too high but the bet looks safe.