Real Madrid will try to establish a first-leg lead when they travel to Reale Arena for Wednesday's Copa del Rey semi-final clash against Real Sociedad.
The hosts are dreaming of becoming four-time Copa del Rey winners, while Los Blancos are looking to win the competition for the 21st time in their history.
Match preview
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Real Sociedad pulled off the most recent of their three Copa del Rey triumphs in 2019-20 when they got the better of Basque rivals Athletic Club 1-0 in a final pushed back until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, no fans were in attendance to watch Real Sociedad lift the trophy on that occasion, meaning that they have not won the Copa del Rey in front of their own supporters since beating Atletico Madrid on penalties in the 1986-87 final.
La Real are now just two games away from sealing their place in April's final after successfully negotiating their way through five ties to set up their first Copa del Rey meeting with Real Madrid since February 2020.
Real Sociedad eliminated Jove Espanol, Conquense, Ponferradina and Rayo Vallecano, before they recorded a 2-0 quarter-final victory over Osasuna thanks to goals from Ander Barrenetxea and Brais Mendez.
That result kicked off an impressive run of form which has seen Imanol Alguacil's side record five victories in six competitive matches, including a resounding 3-0 victory in Sunday's La Liga home against Leganes, with Arsen Zakharyan, Take Kubo and Jon Ander Olasagasti all finding the net to move La Real into eighth position.
The hosts will be aware that they are the underdogs for the semi-final clash, but their recent home form will give them hope of establishing a first-leg lead, having won 11 of their last 13 competitive games at the Reale Arena, including each of their previous five home games.
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Having already clinched the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, Real Madrid have hope of finishing the campaign with four trophies to their name, with Carlo Ancelotti's charges competing on three fronts in La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
After taking two points from three league matches, Los Blancos got their La Liga title bid back on track with a 2-0 victory in Sunday's home clash against Girona, which came courtesy of a stunning strike from Luka Modric and a late effort from Vinicius Junior.
As a result of their fifth win in six home league games, Real Madrid moved back level on points with leaders Barcelona and one point ahead of third-placed Atletico Madrid with 13 games left to play in the title race.
Real Madrid will now turn their focus to their Copa del Rey bid, with Los Blancos looking to win the competition for the second time in three seasons after beating Osasuna in the 2022-23 final to clinch the Copa del Rey for the 20th time in their history.
They kicked off their current cup journey with wins over Deportivo Minera and Celta Vigo, before they recorded a 3-2 victory over fellow Madrid side Leganes thanks to a late winner from Gonzalo Garcia, who scored his first senior goal to send Ancelotti's side into the last four alongside Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
Real Madrid may not have home advantage for the first leg, but they will still be looking to pick up a victory, especially as they have won their previous three meetings with Real Sociedad, including a 2-0 win in September's league encounter at the Reale Arena.
Team News
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Real Sociedad remain without the services of Hamari Traore, Luka Sucic and Jon Pacheco, while Nayef Aguerd has joined the injury list after being forced off in the first half against Leganes.
Zakharyan made his first La Liga start of an injury-hit season at the weekend, but he was withdrawn at the half-time interval with a small injury issue, making him a doubt for Wednesday's semi-final first leg.
Igor Zubeldia and Sheraldo Becker will both return to the matchday squad after being suspended for Sunday's successful La Liga outing.
Zubeldia could replace Aguerd in the backline, while Olasagasti and Mikel Oyarzabal may also come into the starting lineup.
As for Real Madrid, they remain without the defensive duo of Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal, who are both working on their recovery from long-term knee injuries.
Ancelotti may decide to give Federico Valverde some more rest after the midfielder was left on the bench for Sunday's draw with Girona.
Kylian Mbappe has been left out of the squad after it was agreed between the player and the club to give him time to recover from a tooth removal.
Jude Bellingham is set to return to the starting XI after serving the first game of a two-match La Liga ban at the weekend.
Having featured in all three of Real Madrid's cup games, Andriy Lunin is expected to replace Thibaut Courtois in between the posts, while Antonio Rudiger, Fran Garcia and Dani Ceballos are all in contention to feature in Wednesday's lineup.
Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:
Remiro; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Elustondo, Lopez; Zubimendi; Kubo, Olasagasti, Marin, Gomez; Oyarzabal
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Garcia; Ceballos, Tchouameni; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Endrick
We say: Real Sociedad 2-2 Real Madrid
Real Sociedad and Real Madrid will both be determined to carry a lead into April's second leg, but we think that the two sides may have to settle for a draw in Wednesday's first leg, considering that Real Sociedad have proven to be tough to beat in recent home games and Real Madrid have lost just one of their last 11 competitive away matches.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
