Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla: Preview and Prediction
Sevilla is still in the chase for a top four place and this is what they will be playing for when they travel to the Wanda Metropolitano to face Atletico Madrid. Atletico Madrid has already secured a top four place and the Champions League ticket. These two sides are separated by one point, hosts Atletico are third with 67 points while Sevilla is fourth with 66 points.
Atletico secured a Champions League slot on Wednesday after beating Elche 2-0 for their second straight win and a clean sheet. They have three wins in the last five matches with three clean sheets too during this period. At home, they are on an eight-game unbeaten run, with five wins and four clean sheets in that period. They’ve only lost once in their last 11 home matches.
Sevilla, meanwhile, hasn’t been on a great run ahead of this game. They are coming from three straight draws and have managed just two wins in their last 10 matches across all competitions. In the league, they have managed three clean sheets in the last 10 games and failed to score in four.
In their last game, they drew 0-0 with Mallorca and with fifth placed Real Betis in hot pursuit, they can’t afford to drop more points in their top-four quest. A win here will secure their place in the top four, but Atletico knows they have a mathematical chance at finishing second so they will also push for that. Sevilla has beaten Atletico Madrid in their last two meetings, but these haven’t come in Atletico’s backyard.
Current Form
Atletico defeated Elche 2-0 on Wednesday
Atlético Madrid’s title defence certainly hasn’t gone to plan, but they have now qualified for the Champions League. On Wednesday night, their top-four spot was secured by a 2-0 victory over Elche at Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero with Matheus Cunha and then Rodrgio De Paul the scorers in Elx.
Having also beaten champions Real Madrid in el Derbi Madrileno last Sunday night, Diego Simeone’s side cannot be caught by fifth-placed Betis.
Sevilla meanwhile is just one place and one point below their hosts, but still has work to do if they’re to join Atleti in the Champions League. Los Nervionenses have endured three successive draws, following Wednesday’s stalemate at home to relegation-threatened Mallorca.
Overall, Julen Lopetegui’s side has drawn ten of their last 16 La Liga matches, winning four and only losing twice in November. So, Sevilla are five points clear of city-rivals Real Betis, needing just another draw from their final two games due to their superior head-to-head record.
Head to Head Record
Lucas Ocampos scored the winning goal against Atletico in December
Checking on their most recent head to head meetings going back to May 2019 shows us that Atletico Madrid has won 1 of these games and Sevilla 2, with the number of draws standing at 3. An aggregate of 14 goals was scored between them during those clashes, with 7 of them for Atleti and 7 netted by Sevillistas. This gives an average number of goals per game equal to 2.33.
The last league encounter featuring these sides was on December 18th when the final score was Sevilla 2-1 Atletico Madrid. On that day, Sevilla had 55% possession and 6 shots on goal with 2 of them on target. The goalscorers were Ivan Rakitic (7′) and Lucas Ocampos (88′). Atlético Madrid had 15 shots at goal with 3 on target with Felipe (33′) being the lone scorer.
Team News
Despite injuries to Thomas Lemar and João Félix, Diego Simeone still has plenty of attacking talent at his disposal. Matheus Cunha and Antoine Griezmann led the line against Elche and could continue to do so, chosen over Ángel Correa and Luis Suárez.
Héctor Herrera came off the bench in that match; this’ll be his final home game for Atleti before joining Houston Dynamo. However, the Mexican could remain a substitute with Rodrigo De Paul and Geoffrey Kondogbia the midfield duo.
Sime Vrsaljko could keep his place at right-back, chosen over Daniel Wass, despite the Croatian’s recent underwhelming displays.
Anthony Martial came off the bench on Wednesday night after over a month out due to injury. With Sevilla goal-shy, despite the fact the Frenchman is only on loan, Martial could lead the line, chosen over Rafa Mir and Youssef En-Nesyri.
Tecatito Corona, Erik Lamela and Papu Gómez were just in behind the striker for that goalless draw with Mallorca. However, Ivan Rakitic and Lucas Ocampos are almost certainly going to return for this one.
Predicted Starting XIs
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Reinildo, Jose Gimenez, Stefan Savic, Sime Vrsaljko; Yannick Carrasco, Rodrigo De Paul, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Koke; Matheus Cunha, Antoine Griezmann
Sevilla (4-5-1): Yassine Bounou; Marcos Acuna, Diego Carlos, Jules Kounde, Jesus Navas; Nemanja Gudelj, Joan Jordan, Ivan Rakitic, Jesus Corona, Erik Lamela; Anthony Martial
Prediction
Atletico Madrid is in great form at home; they go into this game on a terrific run and will be seeking a win to guarantee them at least a third-place finish. Sevilla has struggled a bit in their recent games, winning just two of their last 10 and we feel Atletico are well placed to win here.
