Real Madrid: 3 storylines to watch against Real Sociedad on Matchday 2

Real Madrid injuries at forward

Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio are not expected to play on Sunday at the Anoeta Stadium, as they are both recovering from injuries. Arancha Rodriguez of COPE also states that backup striker Luka Jovic is dealing with a foot issue.

So Real Madrid won’t be at full strength offensively for Matchday 2. Karim Benzema is the surefire starter at striker, but the injuries at wide forward mean that Los Blancos will have a few options as to which players surround the Pichichi candidate.

But at the end of the day, Vinicius Junior on the left and Rodrygo Goes on the right are the safe bets. They are two starting-caliber players who are coming off strong seasons for Los Merengues, with Vinicius putting on a show in 2020. His goal against Barcelona in March’s Clasico won’t be forgotten by Madridistas anytime soon.

Both men should be able to do plenty of damage against La Real’s defense, though Hazard’s link-up with Benzema and Asensio’s goal-scoring prowess will be missed. Not having the latter might actually be the bigger blow, since Asensio scored three goals in under 400 La Liga minutes since returning from his injury, while Vinicius has been just as good as Hazard in 2020 – if not better, to be honest.

Real Madrid shouldn’t see any drop-off in quality in the attack with Vinicius and Rodrygo starting, and both players will be itching to get on the scoresheet. They know this is an important season for Madrid’s youth.