Two big teams clash on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where fourth-placed Real Madrid take on fifth-placed Sevilla. Last season Sevilla defeated the Blancos 2-1 at home, but then Real Madrid got revenge with a 4-1 victory in the Spanish capital. The two teams also met in the Copa del Rey last term and Real Madrid pulled through with a 6-3 victory on aggregate, while in the UEFA Super Cup the two sides put on a great show and the Blancos eventually won 3-2 after extra-time.
Real Madrid are struggling to keep up the pace with LaLiga leaders Barcelona this season, they have already lost two league matches since the start of the campaign and won just two of the last four games. They are eight points behind the leaders after 14 matches and they really can't afford any more slip-ups in the coming matches. Last week they were held to a goalless draw at Athletic Bilbao, while this week the Blancos got a 3-2 Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund, with qualification already secured. Sergio Ramos is suspended for this match, while Casemiro and Dani Carvajal will miss out through injury.
Sevilla are unbeaten in their last six matches in all competitions and have won their last three matches in LaLiga. They are hoping to compete for a top-four spot this season, a place which would grant them qualification to next season's Champions League, but if they want to pull that off they need to get good results against the other big teams. So far, Sevilla have lost at leaders Barcelona, at second-placed Valencia and at third-placed Atletico Madrid. Daniel Carrico and Nico Pareja are injured and won't play on Saturday.
Probable line-ups:
Real Madrid: Navas - Hakimi, Vallejo, Nacho, Marcelo - Modric, Kroos, Kovacic - Isco - Benzema, Ronaldo
Sevilla: Rico - Mercado, Lenglet, Kjaer, Escudero - Banega, Pizarro, Vazquez - Sarabia, Yedder, Nolito
My prediction: 2-2 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Real win - 1.33
Draw - 5.50
Sevilla win - 8.50
12/11/17, 02:12:01 PM
