Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News

Atletico Madrid head to the Anoeta to face Real Sociedad on Sunday evening, hoping to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Diego Simeone's side are

Atletico Madrid head to the Anoeta to face Real Sociedad on Sunday evening, hoping to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

Diego Simeone's side are seven points behind Barça but that gap could be ten if Ernesto Valverde's men win their second away Clasico in a week the day before.

The hosts are pushing for a Champions League spot after coming back from a slow start to the season, unbeaten in the league since Imanol Alguacil took over at the end of 2018, and sit just four points off fourth-placed Getafe.

Where to Watch

When Is Kick Off?	Sunday 3rd March
What Time is Kick Off?	17:30 (GMT)
Where Is It Played?	Anoeta Stadium
TV Channel/Live Stream?	Eleven Sports 1
Referee?	Jose Luis Gonzalez

Team News

Full-backs Andoni Gorosabel and Kevin Rodrigues are long term absentees, while captain Asier Illarramendi has missed the last eight games with a muscle injury. Adnan Januzaj is rated 50/50 for Imanol Alguacil's team. 

Lucas Hernandez hasn't featured for Atletico since 9th February because of a knock and will miss out again, while Stefan Savic is likely to miss out on a place in the starting lineup with a foot problem. 

Diego Costa should be fit though, and could start ahead of Alvaro Morata up front. 

Predicted Lineups

Real Sociedad	Rulli; Zaldua, Llorente, Navas, Hernandez; Zubeldia, Merino, Zurutuza; Juanmi, Willian Jose, Oyarzabal (c).
Atletico Madrid	Oblak; Arias, Godin (c), Gimenez, Filipe Luis; Saul, Koke, Partey, Lemar; Griezmann; Costa.

Head to Head Record

Atletico were victorious in previous meeting, when Diego Godin and Filipe Luis netted at the Wanda Metropolitano last October.

La Real won the corresponding match 3-0 last season and are unbeaten against Atletico at home since 2015 - that 2015 fixture representing the last time an away side won this fixture.

It has been seven years since the teams have drawn.

In total Sociedad have won 16 ties, Atletico 18, with seven draws. 

Recent Form

La Real are currently on their best unbeaten run of the season, without a loss in 10 league and cup games, although they have won just four of those matches.

One of those victories was away at Real Madrid, Willian Jose and Ruben Pardo taking advantage of Lucas Vazquez's red card to secure a 2-0 win back in January.

After suffering back-to-back losses away at Real Betis and at home to bitter rivals Real Madrid, Atletico have won their last three matches – including an impressive win against Juventus in last 16 of the Champions League.

Before those aforementioned setbacks, they were unbeaten in 19 matches in all competitions. 

Here's how each team has performed in their last five fixtures.

Real Sociedad	Atletico Madrid
Girona 0-0 Real Sociedad (25/2)	Atletico Madrid 2-0 Villarreal (24/2)
Real Sociedad 3-0 Leganes (16/2)	Atletico Madrid 2-0 Juventus (20/2)
Valencia 0-0 Real Sociedad (10/2)	Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Atletico Madrid (16/2)
Real Sociedad 2-1 Athletic Bilbao (2/2)	Atletico Madrid 1-3 Real Madrid (9/2)
Real Sociedad 0-0 Huesca (27/1)	Real Betis 1-0 Atletico Madrid (3/2)

Prediction

Both teams will come into this match confident of winning. La Real have only let in 12 goals at home in La Liga this season, while Atletico have only failed to score in three away games.

With those figures in mind – and Atleti's fearsome defence – a 1-1 draw wouldn't be a surprise.