Real Madrid face a tough test on their road towards the title as they host Sevilla at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, while Barcelona play at the same time at Las Palmas. The two teams have already met four times this season, starting in August with the UEFA Super Cup which Real Madrid won after extra time. Then they clashed in the Copa del Rey and Real Madrid pulled through after a 3-0 home win and a 3-3 draw away. The reverse league fixture in January was won by Sevilla, it ended 2-1 as Sevilla fought back from 1-0 down.
Real Madrid had their four-game winning streak in all competitions snapped by rivals Atletico Madrid this week, the Blancos lost 2-1 at Vicente Calderon in the Champions League but qualified for the final thanks to the 3-0 victory they had recorded in the first leg. Real Madrid are still tied on points with Barcelona at the top of the table, but they have a game in hand which will be at Celta Vigo next week. Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale remain the only injury concerns for head coach Zinedine Zidane.
Sevilla don't have any more major worries at the end of the season, they are in fourth place and need just one point to make sure they finish there, a point that they can surely get in the last match of the season when they host already relegated Osasuna. However, a match at Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid will surely motivate the players to give their fans something to cheer about. Pablo Sarabia is suspended for this match, while Mariano and Vicente Iborra are injury doubts.
Probable line-ups:
Real Madrid: Navas - Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo - Modric, Casemiro, Kroos - Isco - Ronaldo, Benzema
Sevilla: Rico - Rami, Pareja, Lenglet - Mariano, N'Zonzi, Nasri, Escudero - Correa, Yedder, Vitolo
My prediction: Real Madrid to win 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Real Madrid win - 1.17
Draw - 8.00
Sevilla win - 15.00
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