LaLiga title contenders Real Madrid have a tough match ahead of them on Saturday evening, when they host fourth-placed Sevilla at Santiago Bernabeu. The reverse fixture was played in September and it wasn't easy at all for the Blancos, they won the match 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from Karim Benzema. Overall, Real Madrid have won four of the last six direct matches, while Sevilla have won two. However, the last time Sevilla defeated Real in Madrid was back in 2008.
Real Madrid can put some pressure on league leaders Barcelona if they beat Sevilla on Saturday, Barca play on Sunday and the Blancos could move at the top of the table. The two rivals are currently tied on 40 points at the top of the table, while Sevilla are five points behind. Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup last weekend with a victory on penalties against local rivals Atletico Madrid, while in LaLiga they defeated Getafe 3-0 at the start of the year to end a streak of three consecutive draws. Federico Valverde was sent off in the Super Cup final and is now suspended, while Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard are injured.
Sevilla had a solid season so far, they have lost just four of their nineteen league matches and have qualified for the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League. They are undefeated in their last four matches in all competitions, including a 1-1 LaLiga draw against Athletic Bilbao at the start of January. Last week Sevilla secured an easy 5-0 victory over third division side Escobedo in the Spanish CupThe visitors don't have any injury concerns ahead of this match, but Lucas Ocampos is suspended.
Probable line-ups:
Real Madrid: Courtois - Carvajal, Varane, Militao, Mendy - Kroos, Casemiro, Modric - Isco - Bale, Jovic
Sevilla: Vaclik - Navas, Carlos, Carrico, Escudero - Banega, Fernando, Jordan - Vazquez, De Jong, El Haddadi
My prediction:
This will be a tough match for Real Madrid but they should be quite confident after the Super Cup win, so I think they will be able to snatch a 2-1 victory.
Here are the odds for the matach at NetBet:
Real Madrid win - 1.59
Draw - 4.40
Sevilla win - 5.05
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