Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

By Matt Law | 11 Sep 2026 10:35, Last updated: 11 Sep 2026 10:37

Atletico Madrid will be aiming to avoid a third straight defeat in all competitions when they resume their La Liga campaign away to Real Sociedad on Sunday evening.

Diego Simeone's side are currently sixth in the La Liga table on seven points, while Real Sociedad are ninth in the division on seven points.

Real Sociedad have a record of two wins, one draw and two defeats from their five La Liga matches this season, with seven points leaving them in ninth spot in the division.

The Basque outfit opened their campaign with back-to-back defeats to Real Betis and Real Madrid, but they have picked up seven points from their last three matches, beating Espanyol and Elche either side of a goalless draw with Celta Vigo.

Pellegrino Matarazzo's side finished 10th in La Liga last season, but they have managed to qualify for the 2026-27 Europa League league phase due to their Europa League success.

Real Sociedad will be expecting to push towards the top six in La Liga this term given the quality in their squad, and this will be their first meeting with Atletico since beating them on penalties in the final of the 2025-26 Copa del Rey.

Atletico lead the overall head-to-head record between the two sides, winning 80 of their 165 meetings in all competitions, suffering 48 defeats in the process.

Simeone's side are unbeaten against Real Sociedad in La Liga since September 2019, but it was 1-1 in the corresponding game between the two sides last season.

Atletico made a solid start to the 2026-27 campaign, picking up seven points from their opening three league matches against Malaga, Villarreal and Sevilla.

However, it has been a difficult week for the Red and Whites, losing 3-0 to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga last weekend, before going down 2-1 to Liverpool in the Champions League.

Atletico took the lead against Liverpool through Marcos Llorente, but the Premier League club managed to turn the match around to make it a second successive loss for the capital team.

The Red and Whites are currently sixth in Spain's top flight on seven points, two points behind third-placed Real Madrid and five points off leaders and reigning champions Barcelona.

Real Sociedad will be without the services of Jon Martin on Sunday, with the 20-year-old defender sent off in the team's win over Elche last time out.

Alvaro Odriozola is also out with a knee injury, while Pablo Marin needs to be assessed.

There are not expected to be any surprises in the Real Sociedad side on Sunday, with Mikel Oyarzabal set to lead the line once again.

As for Atletico, Alexander Sorloth remains a doubt due to a muscular issue, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape for this weekend's match.

Julian Alvarez started against Liverpool and is again expected to feature in the starting side, as he looks to move on from a summer transfer saga.

Alex Baena and Lee Kang-in are both expected to feature in the final third of the field, meaning that Ademola Lookman might be among the substitutes for the first whistle.

Marrero; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Sarr, Gomez; Ochieng, Herrera, Soler, Guedes; Sucic, Oyarzabal

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Grimaldo; Simeone, Barrios, Hjulmand, Baena; Lee; Alvarez

Atletico need to bounce back following successive defeats, but Real Sociedad are in good form, so Simeone's side might have to settle for a share of the spoils.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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