BBC NEWS: Real Sociedad vs. Atlético de Madrid: Attacking intent on Anoeta?

Atlético are hoping to erase the bad vibes from Wednesday’s sound defeat.

Following an ugly Champions League loss to Benfica on Wednesday, Atlético de Madrid will play Real Sociedad on Sunday as Los Colchoneros look to keep up with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Despite a midweek defeat in Lisbon, Atlético Madrid (4-4-0, 16 points) are one of only two unbeaten clubs in LALIGA. A second consecutive victory in San Sebastián would put them in a solid domestic position heading into the international break. Atlético has not lost any of its previous nine league encounters with La Real, winning the previous three before Sunday.

“I think the atmosphere within our group is good, we’re working in line with the team we want to have,” head coach Diego Simeone told reporters on Saturday. “Players who arrived at the end of the transfer window need to adapt and find their place.” From the coaches’ perspective, we definitely need to get them to adjust as soon as possible so that the squad can take shape.”

Real Sociedad (2-2-4, 8 points) also lost their midweek European encounter, with Belgian heavyweights Anderlecht winning 2-1 at Reale Arena on Thursday. The Txuri-Urdin have struggled this season, finishing 14th in the table after losing key players such as Mikel Merino and Robin Le Normand over the summer; Imanol Alguacil’s men have scored just six league goals in eight games, though his attacking trident of Sheraldo Becker, Take Kubo, and captain Mikel Oyarzabal is not exactly what a struggling defense would want to see right now.

“(La Real) did not play their strongest team on Thursday, so we imagine that the way the coach plays, which is very clear and has led to important results, will probably not vary between the 5-3-2 and 4-3-3 that he likes to switch between,” says Simeone. “That (formation) has produced results with players such as Kubo, Becker, and Oyarzabal.” They’re a bold squad that attacks and is quite powerful at the start of a game.”

Although Le Normand (head injury) and Marcos Llorente (suspension/hamstring injury) are still out, Simeone had positive news in training this week when César Azpilicueta and Pablo Barrios participated in group exercises as usual; signs are that Barrios might start on Sunday. Alexander Sørloth, a former Real Sociedad striker, is expected to rejoin the team as a center-forward alongside Julián Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann. None of the three players played more than an hour against Benfica. Javi Galán, who spent the second part of the 2023/24 season at Atlético, may start against his former team, while Clément Lenglet, who joined on loan from Barcelona, is expected to make his debut.