Carlo Ancelotti's second and almost certainly final spell as Real Madrid head coach will come to an end on Saturday afternoon, when Los Blancos welcome Real Sociedad to Bernabeu in La Liga.
Real Madrid will finish as runners-up in the La Liga table this season, while an incredibly disappointing campaign for Real Sociedad has left them down in 11th, and the Basque outfit will not have any European football on offer in 2025-26.
Match preview
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Real Madrid lifted the UEFA Super Cup back in August, but that will be their only trophy for the 2024-25 campaign, with the team falling short in La Liga, the Champions League, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Only four points separate Los Blancos from Barcelona in the La Liga table, so it has not been an entirely dominant campaign from the Catalan giants, but they have been the best team in Spain's top flight this term.
Real Madrid's performance level throughout the season has been questioned, with the capital side struggling to reach the heights of the 2023-24 campaign, which ended with a La Liga and Champions League double.
Ancelotti's second and almost certainly final spell as head coach will officially come to an end on Sunday, with Xabi Alonso set to be confirmed as his replacement in the near future, and the Spaniard will lead the team into the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid have beaten Mallorca and Sevilla in their last two league games, and they will be bidding to end their season with another victory on Saturday, with their Club World Cup challenge then beginning on June 18 against Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
This weekend's match will also be a special occasion for Luka Modric, as he prepares to play for Real Madrid at Bernabeu for the final time, with his exit this summer being confirmed on Thursday.
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Real Sociedad finished sixth in La Liga last season, while they have only been lower than ninth on one occasion since 2015, so this will go down as a very disappointing campaign for the Basque outfit.
La Real have a record of 13 wins, seven draws and 17 defeats from their 37 league matches this season, which has left them down in 11th spot in the table on 46 points, one point behind 10th-placed Mallorca but five from Osasuna in ninth.
The White and Blues will finish 10th, 11th or 12th this term, and it is set to be a summer of change, as head coach Imanol Alguacil is leaving, while a number of players, including star individual Martin Zubimendi, are set to depart.
Real Sociedad will enter this match off the back of a 3-2 success over Girona, which proved to be their first win since the start of April, and they have been beaten in nine of their 18 away La Liga matches during the 2024-25 campaign.
La Real have lost their last three La Liga matches against Real Madrid, meanwhile, including a 2-0 defeat in the reverse game earlier this season, and they were beaten 2-1 at Bernabeu during the 2023-24 season.
Team News
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Real Madrid appealed the yellow card handed to Jude Bellingham in the win over Sevilla last time out but were unsuccessful, so the England international is out of Ancelotti's farewell match through suspension.
Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo and Dani Carvajal will also again be missing, alongside Endrick, who is the latest to join the injured list, but Brahim Diaz and Vinicius Junior are both back in the squad.
Lucas Vazquez and Modric are both set to make their final league appearances for Real Madrid this weekend, with the former widely expected to follow the latter out of the door this summer.
Kylian Mbappe will also again be in the XI for Los Blancos, as the France international bids to add to the 41 goals that he has scored during an excellent debut campaign for the club, while Raul Asencio has overcome a muscular issue to make the squad.
As for Real Sociedad, Aihen Munoz will be back in the squad after serving a suspension, but Nayef Aguerd, Sheraldo Becker and Orri Oskarsson remain injury doubts for the Basque outfit.
Zubimendi is set to make his final appearance for La Real on Saturday afternoon, as the midfielder prepares to leave this summer, with Arsenal firmly at the head of the queue for the Spain international.
Mikel Oyarzabal is set to continue in the final third of the field for the visitors, while there are also expected to be starts for both Pablo Marin and Brais Mendez at Bernabeu this weekend.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Asensio, Tchouameni, F Garcia; Valverde, Modric, Ceballos; Guler, Mbappe, Vinicius
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Traore, Elustondo, Zubeldia, Munoz; Zubimendi, Marin; Kubo, Mendez, Barrenetxea; Oyarzabal
We say: Real Madrid 2-1 Real Sociedad
Real Madrid are again set to be missing a number of important players, but Real Sociedad are a very difficult side to back at the moment due to their struggles, and we are expecting Los Blancos to end their 2024-25 campaign with a victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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Matt Law
