Real Madrid: 3 Takeaways From Official Squad At Real Sociedad

Real Madrid will face Real Sociedad on Sunday for their La Liga opener, and they have announced their official 22-man squad for the match.

Los Blancos will look to get their La Liga title defense off on the right foot against Real Sociedad on Sunday for La Liga’s Matchday 2. Although it is the second week of matches in Spain’s top flight, Sunday’s match at the Anoeta Stadium will be Real Madrid’s season opener.

The club has announced its official 22-man squad for their third head-to-head battle against La Real in 2020, having split a win and a loss with the San Sebastian club.

Here are three takeaways from the announced squad.

Real Madrid have two Castilla players in the squad

With several injuries, Real Madrid have to juggle their depth issues and have called upon two Castilla players in the first team. Somewhat surprisingly, Antonio Blanco isn’t one of them, though there have been rumors of him being called up as Casemiro’s backup after a highly impressive run in Real’s march to the UEFA Youth League title.

Instead, Zinedine Zidane has gone with right winger Marvin Park, listed as a midfielder in the squad, and Sergio Arribas.

Of the two youngsters, Arribas would be the more likely to make an impact on Sunday. The 18-year-old is another right-sided midfielder and winger who can give the club a lot of attacking thrust. He had two goals and five assists in 10 matches in the UEFA Youth League, so he’s a name to keep an eye on as the 2020-2021 season unfolds.

Martin Odegaard is in the lineup for Real Madrid

Real Madrid attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard was a standout for Real Sociedad last season, nearly leading La Real to a Champions League appearance. The Norway international was initially questionable for this game due to an injury, but he is offiically in the squad.

Odegaard most likely won’t start in the first game for Los Blancos, especially since he may not be 100 percent. Zinedine Zidane usually takes the cautious approach, which is the best policy.

But Odegaard could make an appearance off the bench, coming in for, say, Toni Kroos or Fede Valverde if Los Blancos need some extra attacking firepower. Odegaard will be Real’s most creative player in 2020-2021, and he’s capable of finishing moves off himself with his technical quality and dribbling skills.

Odegaard could be one of the X-Factors to watch for Madrid on Sunday.

Borja Mayoral could get a chance for Real Madrid

Borja Mayoral spent the last two seasons on loan at Levante, and he was impressive in 2019-2020, scoring eight goals with two assists for the La Liga side. While Real Madrid are still expected to sell Mayoral this summer, there are rumblings that Zinedine Zidane wants to give him a chance in the first team after being impressed with him in training. 

Mayoral is in the squad this weekend and has a chance to impress against Real Sociedad if he comes off the bench. He is in the squad over Mariano Diaz, who is also on the transfer list, so that shows you he is at least ahead of him. Mayoral shouldn’t get more chances than Luka Jovic behind Karim Benzema, but all bets are off if Jovic decides to go out on loan.