Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad Prediction, Picks, XIs for La Liga – 8/26/26

Real Madrid are set to play their second match of the 2026-27 La Liga campaign against Real Sociedad on Wednesday, August 26, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited (English) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish).

According to PrizePicks Team Picks, Real Madrid is heavily favored as the home team at the Bernabéu, returning a 1.26x payout if they secure a victory.

Below, we’ll discuss our Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad prediction and picks for Wednesday’s La Liga showdown.

Make your Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad prediction on PrizePicks for today’s match.

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Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad Prediction, Spread, Total Goals for La Liga – Wednesday, August 26

José Mourinho took the sidelines as the manager of Real Madrid for the first time since 2013 on August 22 against Espanyol. While the Mourinho era (again) began with a victory, a 90th-minute winner from 21-year-old ST Carlos Espí was needed to get the job done in a 2-1 result.

On Wednesday, Mourinho will have the energetic and passionate Real Madrid fans at his back for the club’s season debut at the Bernabéu. It remains to be seen if the experienced manager makes any alterations to the lineup after playing less than five days ago. 

It was an unproductive season opener for ST Kylian Mbappé against Espanyol, though he certainly generated scoring opportunities. Mbappé logged 10 shots with 2 big chances missed and 1.53 xG per 90 minutes, via FotMob.

Although Madrid are hoping Mourinho can help them slay Barcelona at the top of La Liga, they still have the second-lowest payout to win the league (2.17x) behind their Spanish rivals.

As for Real Sociedad, they were unable to get their new campaign started on the right foot, losing 1-0 to Real Betis on August 21. It was LW Rodrigo Riquelme who scored for Betis to send Sociedad home with a defeat to begin the year.

In the low-scoring loss to Real Betis, Real Sociedad totaled just 9 shots (6 from open play). Sociedad will certainly need to improve at creating scoring opportunities if they want to have a shot at getting a result in a hostile environment.

At the forefront of Real Sociedad’s attack, they have two notable names in ST Mikel Oyarzabal and RW Takefusa Kobo. Oyarzabal subbed in for Kobo in the club’s season opener, but both of them are expected to take the pitch together in the starting XI on Wednesday.

Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad Favorite to Win, Spread, Total Goals – Wednesday, August 26

Real Madrid enters Wednesday’s La Liga match as home favorites, returning a 1.26x payout ($100 entry pays out $126) on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright. There is also a 5.26x payout if a tie occurs.

Here are the full payouts for the Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad match on PrizePicks.

Play the Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad spread or total goals on PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money — available in 36 states!

Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change. Does not include extra time or penalties.

Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad Prediction on Both Teams to Score – 8/26/26

Here are some stats to know to help you make your Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad prediction on both teams to score on Wednesday, August 26. Check out more of our soccer picks and predictions on Playbook.

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• Realistically, Real Madrid are going to need a bit of time to get adjusted to Mourinho’s system.
• Both teams have scored in three of the last four meetings between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.
• Dating back to last season, both teams have found the back of the net in eight of the last 10 La Liga home games for Real Madrid.
• On the other hand, both teams have also scored in five of the last seven road games for Real Sociedad in La Liga.
• Madrid was second in shots on target per match (6.7) and second in xG (77.9) in La Liga last year.
• Meanwhile, Sociedad was sixth in shots on target per match (4.6) and sixth in xG (54.4) last season.

Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad Projected Lineups

Here are the projected Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad lineups for today's La Liga match. Lineups are not official.

Real Madrid Lineup vs. Real Sociedad: Projected 4-2-3-1

• Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
• Defense: Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold
• Midfield: Bernardo Silva, Arda Güler, Federico Valverde
• Forwards: Vinicius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé, Yan Diomande

Real Sociedad Lineup vs. Real Madrid: Projected 4-2-3-1

• Goalkeeper: Álex Remiro
• Defense: Sergio Gómez, Jon Martín, Igor Zubeldia, Jon Aramburu
• Midfield: Luka Sučić, Carlos Soler, Yangel Herrera
• Forwards: Ander Barrenetxea, Mikel Oyarzabal, Takefusa Kobo

Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad Picks, Player Stats for PrizePicks: 8/26/26

Here are our Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad picks to target on players for Wednesday, August 26. Player picks via PrizePicks are headlined by Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior.

Real Madrid ST Kylian Mbappé vs. Real Sociedad

Kylian Mbappé Projections via PrizePicks: 5 Shots, 34.5 Passes Attempted, 23.5 Fantasy Score, 0.5 Goals (Goblin)

• As mentioned above, Mbappé produced 10 shots without a goal against Espanyol. No one else on Madrid had more than 1 shot.
• Mbappé led Real Madrid in shots per 90 (5.0) and shots on target per 90 (2.2) during the 2025-26 La Liga season.
• In the opener against Espanyol, Mbappe tallied 39 total passes.
• Mbappé has scored in each of his last three La Liga matches against Real Sociedad, including a brace on May 24 of the 2024-25 season.

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Real Madrid LW Vinícius Júnior vs. Real Sociedad

Vinicius Júnior Projections via PrizePicks: 3 Shots, 2 Shots Assisted, 0.5 Goal + Assist (Goblin), 6.5 Attempted Dribbles

• While Vinícius recorded just 1 shot against Espanyol in Madrid’s opener, he had the third-most shots per 90 (3.2) and second-most shots on target per 90 (1.5) for the club last season.
• Júnior was also tied with Güler for the most chances created (70) on Real Madrid during last year’s La Liga campaign.
• Vinicius has scored and/or assisted in three of his last four La Liga matches against Real Sociedad.
• Although Júnior had 3 attempted dribbles against Espanyol, he was fouled a whopping 8 times in the win.

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Make Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad Picks on PrizePicks

It will certainly be loud when Real Madrid takes on Real Sociedad for manager Jose Mourinho’s home debut on Wednesday. Will Sociedad find a goal as the underdogs in this La Liga matchup?

You can make your Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money on La Liga games. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats like shots or goals, and cash in if you’re correct. 

With Team Picks, make predictions on La Liga winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 36 states. 

Stick around with the Playbook for continued La Liga predictions, picks, and analysis through the end of the season.