Who: Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
What: Spanish football’s La Liga
Where: Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain
When: August 26, at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the buildup from 16:00 GMT ahead of our live text commentary stream

As Real Madrid and Real Sociedad go head-to-head on Wednesday, it will match up one of last season’s trophy winners in Spain against a side desperate to put their hands on silverware this time around.

Either Los Blancos or their rivals Barcelona have appeared in all but four of the last 12 finals of the Copa Del Rey, Spain’s premier cup competition, but Sociedad claimed victory last season, beating Atletico Madrid.

Real, meanwhile, were struggling to keep pace with Barca in La Liga and head into the new term seeking to avoid a third season without a trophy.

Not since 2006 have Real endured such a run.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the La Liga fixture where Jose Mourinho makes his first appearance in front of a home crowd on his return as Real manager.

How has Real Madrid’s La Liga season begun?

Mourinho’s second spell in charge of Los Blancos began with a last-gasp 2-1 victory at Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday

Real needed substitute Carlos Espi to pounce in the 90th minute to grab the winner after Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in Los Blancos’ opening fixture of the season, before Alex Calatrava levelled for the home side in Barcelona.

“I think that we deserved to win but that Espanyol didn’t deserve to lose,” Mourinho told reporters.

“They didn’t have any players at the World Cup and have been working together for a long time, and you could see that.”

On top of the big-name starters, Mourinho sent on two more new arrivals in the form of record signing Yan Diomande and Marc Cucurella; however, it was only Espi’s strike – from a loose ball in the box – that saved the day.

What challenges does Mourinho face at Real Madrid?

Back in charge of Madrid 13 years after leaving, Portuguese veteran Mourinho must bring the dressing room under control after the chaos of last season – and prevent Barcelona from securing a La Liga threepeat.

Mourinho started the match at Espanyol with superstars Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham, as well as handing debuts to Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate.

Bellingham had an excellent first season at Madrid after arriving from Borussia Dortmund, but the subsequent two were disappointing, both for him and the club, who failed to win a major trophy in either.

Mourinho installed him in attacking midfield with a licence to roam, and the England international was heavily involved before his goal, which came via a header from Arda Guler’s dangerous crossed free-kick.

Mbappe got in behind on the right of the area in the early stages only to be denied by the keeper, and the French forward, La Liga’s top scorer in both of his two seasons at the club, was far from his lethal best.

On the left flank, Vinicius had little impact beyond winning a series of fouls from Espanyol players who were determined to shut him down by any means.

Why has Mourinho said Real Madrid’s Vinicius needs protection?

Mourinho, once known for his fiery personality and frequent touchline outbursts, says he wants to help Vinicius Junior control his emotions better.

The Real coach thinks Vinicius is being unfairly targeted, but the star forward can do better when reacting to provocations after the Brazilian was involved in several incidents with opposing fans and players at Espanyol.

“There is on the field and off the field,” Mourinho said. “The reaction to fans and insults, obviously, if they are not racist or homophobic insults, but the typical insults by fans, then I think he can control it better.

“In the game, when it comes to the fouls and the accumulation of frustration that he feels, that’s the responsibility of the referees, or the judges, as I like to call them, in terms of their responsibility to protect the players and the game.”

How is Mourinho’s relationship with Vinicius after Benfica controversy?

Mourinho said it’s harder to help Vinicius when it comes to the in-game incidents, but when it’s about his relationship with the opposing fans, then “it’s something that we can work on”.

Last year, Mourinho was criticised for attacking Vinicius’ character after the player accused an opponent of racially insulting him during a Champions League match against Benfica. The coach in charge of Benfica at the time suggested that the Brazil forward incited opposing players with his celebrations after scoring.

“When I was Benfica’s coach, I was only interested about Benfica,” Mourinho said.

The veteran Portuguese coach said it has become obvious the difference in the treatment on the field towards Vinicius and towards other players.

“It’s gone into a spiral in which the opponents know what they can do and what they can’t do,” he said. “If the players can provoke and pressure Vini, either physically or with words, if the yellow card is only shown after 10 fouls, if there can be violence, then it’s a type of treatment that I don’t like.”

How has Real Sociedad’s La Liga season begun?

Real Sociedad have also only played one game this season, with the La Liga start staggered to help clubs heavily affected by World Cup call-ups in the summer.

The match at Real Betis resulted in a 1-0 reverse, though, with Rodrigo Riquelme’s tidy volley from Cucho Hernandez’s cross settling an otherwise tight and even game.

Betis finished fifth in the table last season, and Sociedad’s two away games to begin the campaign mark a tough start, especially given they won only three of their 19 league games on the road in the previous campaign.

What happened the last time Real Madrid played Sociedad?

Real won 4-1 in the last meeting between the sides, the corresponding La Liga fixture last season.

Vinicius Junior scored twice from the spot while Gonzalo Garcia and Federico Valverde also netted.

Sociedad had pulled level through Mikel Oyarzabal’s 21st-minute spotkick but Real took a 3-1 lead at half-time.

When did Sociedad last beat Real Madrid?

Sociedad last beat Real 2-0 in a La Liga encounter in May 2023. Takefusa Kubo and Ander Barrenetxea scored on either side of Dani Carvajal’s sending-off to hand the home side the win.

When did Sociedad last win at Real Madrid?

Sociedad stunned Real with a 4-3 Copa Del Rey win at Bernabeu in February 2020.

Martin Odegaard, now the captain of Arsenal, opened the scoring before a brace from Alexander Isak helped Sociedad to a 3-0 lead by the 56th minute.

Marcelo immediately pulled one back for Real before Mikel Merino restored the three-goal advantage with 20 minutes to play.

A late salvo from Rodrygo and Nacho set up a tight finish, which included Sociedad being reduced to 10 men when Andoni Gorosabel was given his marching orders.

When did Sociedad last win at Real Madrid in La Liga?

Sociedad recorded a 2-0 win at Bernabeu in January 2019

Willian Jose and Ruben Pardo scored on either side of Lucas Vazquez’s 61st-minute red card for Real.

Stat attack – Sociedad at Real Madrid

Sociedad have only won one of their last 20 matches at Real Madrid in La Liga.

They have scored an impressive 19 goals in that run, but have also shipped 54 at the other end, resulting in 16 wins for Real in that run.

Prediction

The Opta supercomputer has given Real Madrid a 66 percent chance of winning the match, while Sociedad are only afforded a 15 percent chance.

Head-to-head

There have been 158 meetings between the sides, with Real Madrid winning 91 times and Sociedad claiming 27 victories.

Real Madrid team news

Eder Militao (muscle), Rodrygo (knee), Raul Asencio (thigh) and Ferland Mendy (hip) all remain sidelined for Real

Endrick (muscle), Thiago Pitarch (knee) and Aurelien Tchouameni (muscle) are doubts and could also miss out.

Jude Bellingham is expected to play, despite nursing his ankle with an ice pack after being substituted in the win at Espanyol.

Real Madrid predicted lineup

Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Bernardo, Valverde; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

Real Sociedad team news

Former Real defender Alvaro Odriozola is back with the club where he began his career, but will miss the match due to a long-term knee injury.

Pablo Marin (muscle), Jon Gorrotxategi (muscle) and Goncalo Guedes (muscle) all face late fitness tests.

Spanish World Cup winner Mikel Oyarzabal started on the bench against Betis, but the striker is expected to lead the line against Madrid.

Real Sociedad predicted lineup

Remiro; Aramburu, Zubeldia, Martin, Gomez; Herrera, Soler; Kubo, Sucic, Barrenetxea; Oyarzabal