Real Madrid won a record 34th LaLiga Santander title in 2019-20, regaining the crown after successive third place finishes in the previous two campaigns.
Their run of 10 wins from 11 matches after the restart in June saw them finish five points clear of rivals Barcelona and they will be looking to begin this campaign in similarly imperious fashion.
The champions’ title defence begins with a tricky fixture away to Real Sociedad, who impressed in the league last season on their way to a sixth-place finish. Having battled from a goal down away from home to draw with Real Valladolid last weekend, Sociedad return to the Reale Arena looking to improve on their form of just one win in their last six home matches at the end of last campaign.
History sides with the visitors in recent years, with Madrid winning on nine of their last 13 visits to Sociedad in LaLiga. What’s more, in Karim Benzema, they have a player who has scored or assisted in each of his last three matches against this weekend’s opponents (two goals and two assists in total).
