Real Madrid will be out for revenge when Real Sociedad visit the Bernabeu on Saturday as Sociedad are one of only three teams to beat Carlo Ancelotti's side this season.
A lot has changed since Sociedad's 4-2 win at the Anoeta with David Moyes coming in as manager of the Basque side and Real Madrid's long winning run that stretched from September to January. After that game the sides were level on three points but they are now separated by a massive twenty-six points.
The big team news is the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo after his red card against Cordoba last week. Ronaldo will miss this game and the visit of Sevilla in midweek as a result of his clash with Edimar and Isco should come back into the starting line up after missing the trip to Cordoba.
Real have recovered well since they lost to Valencia winning their last three league games although the performance was poor against Cordoba and they had to rely on a late Gareth Bale penalty to beat Miroslov Djukic's side.
Real Sociedad have been difficult to beat under Moyes and their games have been tight in recent weeks. Their last six league games have saw a total of nine goals with no team scoring more than a single goal in any of those matches. They won 1-0 against Eibar last weekend ending a run of four games without a win in all competitions.
David Moyes’ side look likely to be without Carlos Martinez and Aritz Elustondo will continue at right back. However, Sociedad will be boosted by the return of Markel Bergara who is set to start in midfield.
Even without Ronaldo Real Madrid should have enough to beat Real Sociedad but Moyes has made them a lot more difficult to break down and you can be sure he will have the team set up for a draw and the longer it stays at 0-0 the more frustrated Real will become and Ancelotti will be hoping that frustration doesn't boil over for a second week in a row.
Probable Teams
Real Madrid - Casillas; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Kroos, Illarra; James, Isco, Bale and Benzema.
Real Sociedad - Rulli; Elustondo, Mikel, Inigo, Yuri; Granero, Bergera; X.Prieto, Vela, Canales and Agirretxe.