Real Madrid will be looking for their fifth straight win as they visit Sevilla in the La Liga. With nine games played, Los Blancos have amassed 24 points, leading the table. Sevilla is now in 14th place with just eight points from the same number of games in 2023–24.
Preview (Sevilla vs. Real Madrid)
This weekend, Sevilla will have a new face in the dugout. Sevilla’s poor start to the season—they have just eight points—has seen them drop to 14th place in La Liga. Despite drawing their first two games, they have not yet lost in their Champions League group. Sevilla drew 2-2 in the league with Rayo Vallecano prior to the international break. At Estadio Ramon, Youssef En-Nesyri tied the score in the ninetieth minute of play. Sevilla, who finished 12th in La Liga the previous year, will now play Real Madrid and Arsenal at home in two pivotal back-to-back league and Champions League games.
Real Madrid has been the best team in La Liga thus far this season. They have won eight of their nine games and lost one, for a total of 24 points. This puts them at the top of the division, two points ahead of Girona in second place. They are three ahead of Barcelona in third. After a dismal 3-1 loss to Atletico Madrid on September 24, Carlo Ancelotti’s team has bounced back admirably. They have won four straight games, three of which have come in La Liga. In their previous three league games against Las Palmas, Girona, and Osasuna, Los Blancos have scored nine goals and given up zero. At the beginning of the month, they also defeated Napoli 3-2 in the Champions League.
With ten goals and three assists in ten games across all competitions, Jude Bellingham has been the team’s top performer this season without a doubt. In La Liga, he hopes to improve on his eight goals and two assists from this season. Real Madrid takes on Braga in the Champions League in Portugal the following week. And there’s the small matter of getting to Barcelona on October 28 for El Clasico. Los Blancos, however, will not be focusing on Sevilla just yet as they want to upset Los Nervionenses in order to win a record-tying sixth La Liga title.
Team News
Due to fitness concerns, Sevilla will be missing Mario Diaz, Erik Lamela, Alfonso Pastor, and Marko Dmitrovic for this weekend’s match against the league leaders. Tanguy Nianzou and Marcao, the defensive combo, are both returning from injury. It seems unlikely that either will be given the start on Saturday night. Ivan Rakitic might go into the midfield in this situation as Sevilla needs to assess Fernando’s health. Fernando was substituted in the first half of the match against Rayo prior to the international break. En-Nesyri, who has scored five goals in ten games this season, should get another start at center forward.
While David Alaba is expected to recover from a groin issue, Real Madrid plans to have the center back resume training during the international break. While Arda Guler has also made great progress in his recuperation from a thigh problem, Alaba should be back in the back four. However, this encounter may come too soon. In September 2018, Sevilla emerged victorious in the league against Real Madrid. They have suffered defeats in eight of their previous nine matches in the top level. Even if we anticipate a close score, it is quite tough to support anything other than an away victory in this game.
Sevilla 1 – 2 Real Madrid
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