Atletico Madrid sit in their customary third spot in La Liga but they’ve had to turn on the boosters to get themselves to this position after making a slow and hesitant start to the Spanish top flight season.
A flurry of draws earlier in the season from September through to early November saw Atletico involved in no fewer than six stalemates within an eight-match sequence during that period and that really slowed Sunday’s hosts down somewhat.
However, Diego Simeone’s side were not to be denied and they’re back to their old selves as they’ve put together an impressive 14-match run without defeat in La Liga, which includes eight wins that have been instrumental to their rise up the domestic top flight table.
It’s been Atletico Madrid’s form at their Estadio Wanda Metropolitano though that has really caught the eye as they’ve suffered just one defeat throughout the campaign to date and bring an unbeaten run of 10 matches which includes an impressive eight victories.
Six of these last 10 matches have also included clean sheets which have been the hallmark of Atletico’s success in recent years.
Onto Real Sociedad, and the visitors are on the fringes of the top six of La Liga and level on points with 6th placed Getafe at the time of writing so they too have plenty of incentive to grab the points in this Sunday’s encounter.
However, Real Sociedad’s earlier form seems to have eluded them in recent weeks as the visitors have picked up just two wins from their previous nine matches overall which has also slowed down their progress and has prevented them from already breaking into a coveted top six position.
Wins against Espanyol and Villarreal have been outweighed by five defeats within this nine-match period and they now face a tough trip to Madrid to face a solid Atletico Madrid outfit at their Estadio Wanda Metropolitano fortress.
It’s also just two away wins from their last eight matches on their travels too for Real Sociedad who just can’t seem to get the vital wins they need to secure a European spot and time is now starting to run out.
Real Sociedad have two matches remaining of this season which are against Sevilla at home and this upcoming clash at Atletico Madrid and things look pretty tight for the visitors who may well come up short in Madrid.