Eighteen points remain to be played for in La Liga. At this juncture in the competition, Real Madrid boast of an 11-point lead over the second-placed team and are on the cusp of being crowned champions.
Even in the ideal scenario of Barcelona winning all their games from this point, Los Blancos can win the title with just three more victories from their next six games.
The massive lead is indeed a beneficial cushion for Los Blancos to enjoy, but the focus will be to wrap the league up in the next three games against Real Sociedad, Cadiz and Granada.
Tonight’ game against Sociedad, on that front, is the club’s first step in their final march to the title.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Real Sociedad at San Sebastian later today.
Last week was a gruelling one for Carlo Ancelotti’s men. They faced off midweek against Manchester City in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie and were made to work hard for 120 minutes on the night.
Inadequately rested after the tough game and long travel, their weary legs were put to the test once more against Barcelona at the weekend in El Clasico.
Having accumulated an excess of minutes, the squad earned a deserved rest of five days for the next game against Real Sociedad. However, their next big game is not far away.
In less than a week, Carlo Ancelotti’s side take the flight to Germany to lock horns with Bayern Munich in the UCL semifinal. Tonight’s game, thus, is the only light opposition on Real Madrid’s otherwise heavy palate.
Considering that La Liga is all but won, Carlo Ancelotti could look to extensively rotate his side for the upcoming league fixture. Utilising the calm before the storm, after all, works out in the manager’s best interest.
Fringe players including Dani Ceballos, Arda Guler, and Joselu can thus expect minutes tonight. The young Turkish sensation, in particular, will be under the spotlight as he is well-placed to receive important minutes off the bench.
While rotations are in the manager’s hand and can be adjusted according to the game situation, Ancelotti enters the clash against Real Sociedad with two key stars out of selection.
Jude Bellingham, who missed training yesterday through gastroenteritis, did not make the cut to feature against Imanol Alguacil’s men and will thus play no part on the night.
Ancelotti’s natural response to the English star’s absence has been Brahim Diaz all season, and all signs point to the Moroccan international getting a start against Real Sociedad.
Needless to say, Bellingham’s absence only improves Guler’s chances of featuring.
The second notable absentee from the squad is the team’s first-choice left-back, Ferland Mendy. Despite confirming that the Frenchman had recovered from his setback, Ancelotti has opted against calling on the defender out of precaution for the UCL clash.
Fran Garcia, in all probability, will replace the player at left-back later today and will look to make a strong impression amidst his declining prominence.
It has been over three weeks since Eder Militao stepped onto the field after his complete recovery from an ACL injury, and the defender has made good progress during the same period.
On his return against Athletic Club, he only came onto the field for a few minutes of play out of caution. The same story repeated against Mallorca midway through April before Ancelotti stretched his contribution to 10 minutes against Manchester City.
Last weekend, the Br azilian featured for 16 minutes against Barcelona, and it is clear that he is making progress in his bid to reach complete match fitness.
Having got past the two tricky opponents in Manchester City and Barcelona, Ancelotti could thus look to give Militao a longer run against Real Sociedad later today.
After all, it is one of the lower-pressure games on Real Madrid’s calendar and will serve well as a stepping stone.
While Militao may not be fit to start and play the 90 minutes against the Basque side, it cannot be ruled out that he is given 45 minutes to regain his match fitness for the business end of the team’s European campaign.
With Bayern Munich just around the corner, Ancelotti could have big plans for Militao in the UCL semifinal, after all.