Real Madrid will travel to the Anoeta to face Real Sociedad on Friday night in what should be another barnburner of a match in LaLiga. The Anoeta is always bumping, especially when the biggest club in Europe comes to San Sebastian.
After defeating Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals and then taking down Barcelona in LaLiga last weekend, Real Madrid enter this fixture as heavy favorites and clear league leaders. But a trip to Real Sociedad is never one to take for granted.
Furthermore, Real Madrid will be without world-class attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham, the clear Ballon d’Or favorite this year. Thankfully, the English international is not injured; he is suffering from a bout of viral gastroenteritis.
The most likely option to replace Jude Bellingham in the Real Madrid starting XI vs. Real Sociedad is striker Joselu. His future in Madrid is unclear, but most Madridistas would like him to stay; the feelings from the club and player appear to be mutual, too.
Joselu helps the forwards a lot with his hold-up play and aerial ability, just as he did at Espanyol. His finishing is difficult to dispute as well; he has been the veteran striker Real Madrid were always looking for as the Karim Benzema backup, though he is here and Benzema is gone to Saudi Arabia.
If Carlo Ancelotti wants to roll the dice a little bit, the most exciting option is magical summer 2023 signing Arda Guler. The Turkish international has overcome injuries to flash his quality in 2023/24 for Real Madrid, scoring once in 31 minutes across five cameo appearances.
Real Madrid and Carletto have been cautious with integrating the 19-year-old attacking midfielder, but Guler could have some room to work his magic against Real Sociedad in what should be a fearless, back-and-forth encounter.
It would be riskier than starting Joselu, but it could very well be worth it to give Guler a bigger run of minutes in a high-octane LaLiga matchup.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.