Arbeloa: Nobody more keen to see Carvajal at his best than me

Alvaro Arbeloa says he is determined to see Dani Carvajal back at his best, amid speculation over the Real Madrid stalwart's future.

Carvajal has managed just 10 Madrid appearances this season in all competitions, making only four starts.

The 34-year-old has featured for 470 minutes this term, and Arbeloa selected youngster David Jimenez ahead of Carvajal for last week's LaLiga win over Valencia.

Reports earlier this week suggested Carvajal was unhappy at Madrid, with rumours also suggesting he will be leaving the club at the end of the season.

Arbeloa, though, says nobody is keener than he is to see Carvajal back at his best level.

"I speak with Carvajal every week. I see him getting closer and closer to his best form," Madrid coach Arbeloa told reporters ahead of Saturday's LaLiga clash with Real Sociedad.

"He'll have to prove it by playing, and he'll do it soon.

"He's had another week of training, and the person most interested in seeing him at his best is me, obviously."

Madrid are just a point behind Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, and with the Blaugrana not playing until Monday, Los Blancos have the chance to move top of the standings.

Arbeloa is now a month into his tenure since replacing Xabi Alonso, but he was keen to focus just on what is in front of Madrid, rather than the bigger picture.

"I'm not thinking about anything other than tomorrow's game," he said.

"There's always room for improvement and development. That's what I'm focused on. I'm happy with how we've trained this week, and hopefully tomorrow's game will be better than the last one, but not as bad as the one after."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Real Madrid - Kylian Mbappe

Arbeloa confirmed Mbappe should be fit to feature at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Mbappe has been involved in five goals in three LaLiga games against La Real (four goals and one assist), only playing a direct part in more goals in the competition against Villarreal (six, five goals and one assist in four games).

Real Sociedad - Carlos Soler

Soler has scored five goals in 12 LaLiga games against Madrid, making them his favourite opponent to score against in the competition.

He is also one of only three players to have scored a hat-trick against Madrid in LaLiga since the 2020-21 season (in November 2020 with Valencia), alongside Valentin Castellanos and Alexander Sorloth.

MATCH PREDICTION: REAL MADRID WIN

After beating Barcelona in January (2-1), Pellegrino Matarazzo could become only the third Real Sociedad manager to win his first LaLiga match against both Barca and Madrid, after Harry Lowe in 1931 and Javier Exposito in 1991.

Madrid have scored seven goals from their defenders in LaLiga 2025-26, the joint most of any team so far this term (level with Espanyol).

La Real, on the other hand, have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 17 LaLiga matches (22 goals conceded), the longest current run of any team in the competition and their longest in the top-flight since 2011 (also 17 games, 33 goals conceded).

But they are unbeaten in their last seven LaLiga games (W4 D3) and are looking to go eight or more without defeat in the competition for the first time since November 2021, a run of 13 games (W8 D5) under Imanol Alguacil.

Madrid have won their last seven matches in LaLiga, scoring exactly two goals in six of those games, their longest winning streak in a single league campaign since May 2024 (W9).

Los Blancos have won their last five matches against La Real in LaLiga, one more victory than in their previous 10 meetings with them in the competition (W4 D3 L3).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Real Madrid - 64.9%

Draw - 18.6%

Real Sociedad - 16.5%