Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad: Predicted Lineup for La Liga Clash With Mbappe to Start
It's been an interesting 48 hours for Real Madrid regarding their star striker Kylian Mbappe. On Thursday, it was reported that he could be out of the game on February 14 against Real Sociedad with a knee injury. However, 24 hours later, he was back in training.
It's not known how fit he is, but head coach Alvaro Arbeloa will be happy to have him available against opponents in great form. There was also concern for center-back Raul Asencio, who was suffering from the flu. He was also seen back in training on Friday.
It's more good news for Los Blancos, who also see Vinicius Jr. return after he served his one-game suspension against Valencia. Rodrygo was injured last week, and it's unknown if he will be back in the squad.
🌱 Last training session before Real Sociedad! pic.twitter.com/OZqqDxiHp6
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) February 13, 2026
Jude Bellingham still remains out with a hamstring injury, but Trent Alexander-Arnold and Antonio Rudiger are available again. The former could see minutes again in preparation for a start against Benfica in the Champions League playoff this coming week.
Real Madrid Predicted Lineup vs. Real Sociedad (4-1-2-1-2)
GK: Thibaut Courtois - The Belgian made it three clean sheets in the last four league games against Valencia, and has 11 on the season, which is the most in La Liga.
RB: David Jiménez - For whatever reason, Dani Carvajal has not been starting under Arbeloa. After the news this week, he could be in contention, but youngster Jiménez played well against Valencia.
CB - Raul Asencio - Asencio celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday, and despite a case of the flu, should be ready to start against Sociedad.
CB: Dean Huijsen - Huijsen and Asencio are forming a string partnership. The summer signing was sent off in the reverse fixture and will hope for a better game.
LB: Alvaro Carreras - The left-back scored the all-important opening goal against Valencia, making it two on the season for him.
CDM: Aurélien Tchouaméni - The Frenchman was an option to start at center-back if Asencio was not healthy. He would have been missed in midfield if he did.
CM: Fede Valverde - The stand-in captain was back to his midfield position against Valencia and should continue after a long stretch filling in at right-back.
CM: Eduardo Camavinga - It's going to be hard to break up the midfield that played well against Valencia. Camavinga or Guler could play from the right in a three if needed.
CAM: Arda Guler - Guler stepped in for the injured Bellingham and played well. Reports suggest Arbeloa sees him as serving an important role for the club.
ST: Kylian Mbappe - There was concern that Mbappe would be out for the game, but Arbeloa confirmed he is good to go. Has scored four goals in three games against Real Sociedad.
ST: Vinicius Jr. - The Brazilian is back after serving a one-game suspension against Valencia. Ended his goal drought in the game before in La Liga and has looked like getting back to his old self.
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-031bbeb5612ca252e2129722373fa56d.png "Jordan Merritt")
Jordan Merritt is a staff writer for Real Madrid On SI. Before joining On SI, he wrote at Fansided, covering Ole Miss football, basketball, and baseball. He has also written for YardBarker, Heavy Sports, and the official EFL site. Merritt is a big sports fan, spending most of his weekends watching Soccer, the NFL, the NBA, college football/basketball, and others. Before starting his career as a freelance writer, Merritt was an Engineer for over 10 years. He lives in West Yorkshire, England, and is keenly interested in sports trading cards.
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