Real Sociedad Vs. Real Madrid Prediction: Los Blancos Wants To Break 22 Copa Del Rey Titles

JAKARTA - Real Madrid will try to take the lead in the first leg when they travel to the Reale Arena to face Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday night, February 26 or Thursday morning WIB.

The hosts dream of becoming the Copa del Rey champion for the fourth time, while Los Blancos want to add their title collection to 21 in the history of this tournament.

Real Sociedad last won the Copa del Rey in the 2019-20 season when they beat city rivals Athletic Club 1-0 in the final which was delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, no supporters were present in the match, so Real Sociedad has not felt the atmosphere of victory in front of their own supporters since successfully winning the Copa del Rey on penalties against Atletico Madrid in the 1986-87 season final.

Now, La Real is only two games away from the Copa del Rey final in April after eliminating five opponents to reach the semifinals, which became their first meeting with Real Madrid at the event since February 2020.

Real Sociedad's journey in the Copa del Rey this season begins with a win over Jove Espanol, Conquere, Ponferradina, and Rayo Vallecano before beating Osasuna 2-0 in the quarter-finals through goals from Ander Barrenetxea and Brais Mendez.

Victory over Osasuna has also started a positive trend for Imanol Alguacil's team, who have now recorded five wins in their last six matches in all competitions, including a 3-0 win over Leganes in last weekend's La Liga match. In the match, Arsen Zakharyan, Takefusa Kubo, and Jon Ander Olasagasti scored to bring La Real up to eighth in the standings.

Despite realizing that they are not the favorites of this match, Real Sociedad can hope for their impressive home performance. La Real has won 11 of their last 13 home games in all competitions, including five consecutive wins at the Reale Arena.

On the other hand, Real Madrid have won one trophy this season, namely the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, and they are still ambitious to wipe out La Liga, Champions League, and Copa del Rey titles this season.

After failing to win in three consecutive La Liga games, Los Blancos finally returned to winning ways by beating Girona 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu last weekend. Luka Modric's spectacular goal as well as Vinicius Junior's additional goals confirmed Madrid's victory and returned them to top competition in the standings with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti's team are now focusing on winning the Copa del Rey for the second time in three seasons, having won the tournament in the 2022-23 season by beating Osasuna in the final.

Madrid's journey in the Copa del Rey this season began with a win over Deportivo Minera and Celta Vigo, before they beat Leganes 3-2 in the quarter-finals through decisive goal from Gonzalo Garcia, who scored his first senior goal in the match.

Although Real Madrid will not play at home for this first leg, they remain seeded, especially as they have won their last three meetings with Real Sociedad. In fact, in the last La Liga meeting at the Reale Arena in September, Los Blancos won with a score of 2-0.

Real Sociedad will still play without Hamari Traore, Luka Sucic, and Jon Pacheco who are injured. In addition, Nayef Aguerd added to the list of injuries after experiencing problems in the first half against Leganes.

Meanwhile, Arsen Zakharyan, who had just recovered from injury and appeared as a starter in the last La Liga match, is again experiencing fitness problems and is in doubt of appearing in the first leg of this semifinal.

However, they got good news with the return of Igor Zubeldia and Sheraldo Becker, who were previously absent due to suspension in the last match. Zubeldia is likely to replace Aguerd in defense, while Olastasti and Mikel Oyarzabal can also return to the starting XI.

From the Real Madrid side, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal still have to be sidelined due to long-term injuries. Federico Valverde is likely to return to rest after only being a substitute in the match against Girona.

Jude Bellingham is confirmed to return to the starting XI after missing the victory over Girona due to suspension. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who has played in three Copa del Rey games this season, is expected to replace Thibaut Courtois under the crossbar.

Antonio Rudiger, Fran Garcia, and Dani Ceballos also have the opportunity to enter the main line-up of this match.

With a strong home performance, Real Sociedad certainly has a chance to put up a fierce fight against Real Madrid. La Real has shown their resilience in the Copa del Rey this season and can hope for full support from their supporters at the Reale Arena.

However, Real Madrid has superior individual experience and quality, especially with Bellingham's return to midfield. Their attacking trio consisting of Rodrygo, Vinicius, and Kylian Mbappe could pose a major threat to the Real Sociedad defense that lost Aguerd.

Los Blancos juga memiliki rekor pertemuan yang superior atas La Real, dan mereka akan berusaha untuk setidaknya mengamankan hasil positif sebelum leg kedua di Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Sociedad: Remiro; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Elustondo, Lopez; Zubimendi; Kubo, Olasagasti, Marin, Gomez; Oyarzabal

Real Madrid: Lunin; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Garcia; Ceballos, Tchouameni; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

Score prediction: Real Sociedad 1-2 Real Madrid