UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly
Atletico Madrid vs Real Sociedad predicted lineups as two of last season’s top four in La Liga meet. Girona’s fast start means it’s 4th vs 5th as it stands but it’s a big game between two in form sides who both recorded Champions League wins in midweek.
Atletico Madrid vs Real Sociedad La Liga team news
Contents
Atletico Madrid are struggling with injuries. They could be without as many as eight players again here and there could be some fatigue after their competitive midweek clash with Feyenoord.
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone will just want to get through to the international break when he’ll be hoping to have a number of players return from injuries. They have six definite absentees here which will limit his options for rotation.
Pablo Barrios, Vitolo, Reinildo, Caglar Soyuncu, Thomas Lemar and Memphis Depay are the men who are definitely out. Of the six, Barrios is perhaps closest to a return but the youngster will not make this weekend’s game.
In addition, Diego Simeone is sweating over the fitness of Angel Correa and Jose Maria Gimenez. The latter has been sorely missed this season as he adds a bit of physicality to the backline which was certainly missed in the 3-2 win over Feyenoord on Wednesday night when the Dutch side created plenty of chances.
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup
Oblak, Hermoso, Witsel, Azpilicueta, Lino, De Paul, Koke, Llorente, Molina, Griezmann, Morata
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad did brilliantly to finish 4th last season given they had pretty extensive injury problems for much of the campaign. Things are looking much brighter on that front now though and they head into the game on a 4 game winning streak in all competitions.
Crucially, they look to have forward Mikel Oyarzabal getting back to his best after serious injury issues over the past 18 months. He’s looking sharper again and set La Real on their way to an impressive UCL road win at Salzburg in midweek.
The visitors only have one significant absentee here and that’s former Arsenal man Kieran Tierney. The full-back is expected to be out until the end of the month which means he’ll also be unavailable for Scotland’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Real Sociedad predicted lineup
Remiro, Aihen, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Traore, Merino, Zubimendi, Brais Mendez, Barrenetxea, Oyarzabal, Kubo
Atletico Madrid vs Real Sociedad predicted lineup – featured duel: Griezmann vs Le Normand
The big head-to-head battle in this game may be between Antoine Griezmann and Robin Le Normand. Both are key players for their respective clubs and it should be an excellent contest.
Griezmann is more of a second striker which will see him drop a bit deep to play off the more physical presence of Alvaro Morata. That could leave Le Normand in two minds at times about whether to follow the Frenchman or whether to hold the defensive line.
The World Cup winner has 4 goals so far this season for Atleti in all competitions and netted an important leveller in the Feyenoord game. However, perhaps surprisingly, he’s yet to record an assist for his club this term, although that will surely soon change.
Le Normand will be hoping Sunday is not the day. He’s developed into an outstanding defender and is likely to start for the Spanish national team in the upcoming internationals. He’s certainly capable of giving as good as he gets against Griezmann who will be up against his old team.
Will Jose Maria Gimenez play against Real Sociedad?
Jose Maria Gimenez returned from injury in late September and was a key man as Atleti recorded excellent wins over Real Madrid and Osasuna. However he’s picked up a fresh knock and it’s looking unlikely that he’ll be in a position to start here which could see Axel Witsel and Cesar Azpilicueta keep their places.
Atletico Madrid vs Real Sociedad predicted lineup – The Final Word
This promises to be a really even game. Real Sociedad boss Imanol has seemingly settled on a best eleven and with a break after this game, he’s unlikely to think too much about rotation here, so it should be a strong visiting side that takes to the field.
Atletico Madrid are in good form but they’ve not had many options in terms of rotation over this busy period which means they’ll definitely be some tired legs in the home team.
Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!
