By Karl Matchett
Keep, sell, loan
Real don’t have a whole heap of time before the new-structured Club World Cup starts, but there will be change beforehand nonetheless: Xabi Alonso will be confirmed as the new head coach in due course and his initial job will be to use the players already there to try and end the season (or is it start the next?) with at least one piece of silverware.
But make no mistake, he’ll also be eyeing up the squad with a view to seeing who he wants to keep, who he wants to build around…and who has no place in his ideal rebuild, be it for tactical or technical reasons. Alonso has habitually been a back three coach so far, a system Real Madrid have used infrequently at best across the last decade. It will require a recoding of the squad makeup, and a few big decisions over the best fits in attack too. The likes of Arda Güler and Endrick might have wanted more game time than they’ve gotten this term; if so, this fixture may be one to show why they should get it under Alonso. The points are irrelevant, the league position won’t change, but Real Madrid are at a crossroads all the same and Ancelotti’s goodbye might also be one for a handful of players – we just don’t know yet which ones.
Another reset
If it’s a sorrowful goodbye in Madrid, in Sociedad it’s another. After five years in a row finishing sixth or better, and fairly consistently at least challenging for Champions League places, this season will be an undoubted disappointment for La Real. The Basque outfit can only finish tenth at best; a bottom-half finish feels more likely, given indifferent end-of-season form and the fact they’ve won five of 18 away games this term. Imanol Alguacil is another coach leaving this summer after more than six years of remarkable consistency and Copa del Rey success, but it feels the right time for a refresh. Sergio Francisco is moving up from the B team to the seniors for next term – and, of course, he took over the second outfit after the departure of a certain Xabi Alonso.
Recent form
Since losing the effective title decider at Barcelona, Real Madrid have won twice. They have three home wins in a row. Real Sociedad hadn’t won in six before victory last time out and have one away league victory since early December.
Team news
Along with the long-term absentees, Raúl Asencio, Rodrygo, Vinícius Jr. and Endrick are also doubts or definitely out. Nayef Aguerd could miss out for La Real with Orri Óskarsson sidelined too.
Key player
Debate will go on over if Kylian Mbappé’s debut season is a success or not but the French striker has 29 goals in 33 starts. The Pichichi is his, but a 30-goal campaign would be a statement of its own – nobody has done that in LaLiga since Lionel Messi in 2021.
Prediction
A few goals to end the campaign with: Real Madrid 3-1 Real Sociedad.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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