Football News, Transfer News, Rumours, Gossip, Latest & Live Scores

LaLiga

Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid Preview and Prediction

Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview 

Atletico Madrid visit the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday to face Sevilla in La Liga, looking to recover from their shock loss on Wednesday night.

Los Rojiblancos were beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao at home in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final encounter. Alejandro Berenguer scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the 25th minute as Diego Simeone’s side paid for their wastefulness. All’s not lost yet, and Atletico can still turn the match around in the second leg later this month at the San Mames, but attention now turns towards their league commitments.

Rayo Vallecano vs Sevilla
Sevilla (From Getty Images)

With 48 points from 23 games, the capital side are currently in fourth position of the La Liga table, 1o behind leaders and arch-rivals Real Madrid, whom they drew 1-1 last weekend. Marcos Llorente scored in stoppage time to cancel out Brahim Diaz’s first-half opener for Los Blancos, but saw their three-game winning run in the top-flight end.

On the other hand, Sevilla have endured a terrible campaign in the league, so much so that instead of competing for Champions League spot as they normally do, the Andalusian side is huffing and puffing to survive in La Liga. With only 20 points from 23 games, Los Nervionenses are just three clear of the drop zone in 15th place, and have won a mere four games all season. Their fourth and most recent victory, though, came last weekend away to Rayo Vallecano, where Quique Sanchez Flores’ side came away with a 2-1 win, courtesy of a first-half brace from Youssef En-Nesyri.

Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid Team News

The home side are nursing quite a few injury concerns right now. Dodi Lukebakio tore his ligament in December and isn’t expected to return before March, when Nemanja Gudelj would also return for them. Mariano Diaz and Tanguy Nianzou are out too whereas Kike Salas faces a race against time to be available for their Atletico clash.

Jesus Navas, Sergio Ramos, Lucas Ocampos and Djibril Sow are all just one booking away from a suspension. Rafa Mir could return to the starting XI in a bid to boost their attacking vanguard.

Predicted XI: Marko Dmitrovic; Jesus Navas, Loic Bade, Marcao, Marcos Acuna; Djibril Sow, Lucien Agoume, Boubakary Soumare, Lucas Ocampos; Youssef En-Nesyri, Rafa Mir

Atletico Madrid too are contending with a few absentees right now. Jose Maria Gimenez is currently nursing a hamstring injury, but nearing return to full fitness. Cesar Azpilicueta won’t return before April, whereas Thomas Lemar and Marcos Paulo are long-term absentees.

In-form striker Alvaro Morata is likely to resume his spot in the attack. He came off the bench in their league cup defeat to Bilbao, and will replace Memphis Depay upfront.

Predicted XI: Jan Oblak; Reinildo Mandava, Stefan Savic, Axel Witsel; Nahuel Molina, Pablo Barrios, Rodrigo de Paul, Koke, Samuel Lino; Antonio Griezmann, Alvaro Morata

Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid Head-To-Head

Atletico Madrid celebrate
Antoine Griezmann celebrates with Atletico Madrid teammates (Pic Credits: Getty)

Last 5 games head-to-head

  • Atletico Madrid 1-0 Sevilla (Copa del Rey, January 2024) 
  • Atletico Madrid 1-0 Sevilla (La Liga, December 2023)
  • Atletico Madrid 6-1 Sevilla (La Liga, March 2023)
  • Sevilla 0-2 Atletico Madrid (La Liga, October 2022)
  • Atletico Madrid 1-1 Sevilla  (La Liga, May 2022)

As you can see, Atletico Madrid have been the dominant force in the fixture. They’ve won their last four clashes in a row, including two in this season alone. This came after back-to-back losses to Sevilla in the 2021 calendar year, spread across two seasons. 

Speaking of their encounters in the ongoing season, Atletico first hosted Sevilla in December 2023, when Marcos Llorente’s  46th-minute strike earned them a narrow 1-0 victory. Last month, the sides met against the Metropolitano Stadium, where Rojiblancos scraped to another 1-0 victory. Memphis Depay was the match-winner this time.

Also Read: Barcelona vs Granada Preview and Prediction

Prediction

Atletico Madrid have beaten Sevilla in both their encounters this season. There’s no reason to believe why the Rojiblancos cannot complete a hat-trick of wins in the fixture this season. 

Sevilla, despite a win in their last match, aren’t likely to defeat their hosts. They’ve been really poor the entire campaign thus far. The visitors could sit deep to frustrate Atletico. However, the latter possesses one of the best attacking vanguards in La Liga right now. Their frontline is capable of taking them apart once more.

Prediction: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Sevilla

Betting Tips

  • Atletico Madrid to win
  • Atletico Madrid to keep a clean sheet
  • Alvaro Morata to score

Odds

  • Sevilla: 3.50
  • Draw: 3.20
  • Atletico Madrid: 2.08

Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid Where To Watch

  • India: Sports 18, Sports 18 HD TV
  • UK: Viaplay (formerly Premier Sports), ITV
  • US: ESPN 
  • Spain: DAZN, Fubo TV

Also Read: Real Sociedad vs Osasuna Preview and Prediction

Ankit Kunwar

Ankit Kunwar works for Sportsdunia as the Content Lead and Social Media Manager. He leads a team of 10-15 freelancers and edits content for the website. Ankit also handles the social media accounts for Sportsdunia.