Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo must be licking his lips at the prospect of going up against his favourite prey Sevilla, as the sides meet at the Santiago Bernabeu in an exciting clash on matchday 30 in the Spanish La Liga.
The Portuguese pouter has hit a hat-trick in each of the last 5 seasons against the Andalusians, and will be more than eager to bag another treble against the side he’s scored the most against in a Real Madrid shirt. However, more importantly, Los Blancos will have their sights on capitalising Atletico Madrid’s shock slip-up at Gijon as a late surge propelled the newbies to a shock victory.
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That opens the door for Zinedine Zidane’s men to close the gap in second to just a point should they beat Sevilla later today. The Whites have had another poor season in the league that almost leaves them with the ignominy of watching their arch-rivals in Catalonia celebrate another league triumph, and pride is all that’s left to play for.
With only 9 more games left in the season, Real Madrid will now focus on finishing in the top 2, having trailed their crosstown rivals in third for much of the season. A win today should bolster them in this pursuit.
Here’s your guide to the tantalizing affair between the third and fifth-placed teams in the division.
Kick-Off and Telecast
Date and Time: 21st March 2016 – 01:00 AM (IST)
Live Telecast: Sony ESPN
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Team News
Hosts Real Madrid have Karim Benzema back in the team, but will be without the services of their prominent centre-backs Sergio Ramos and Pepe, both of whom are suspended for the game. For the visitors, Ever Banega is suspended for the trip to the Spanish capital, whereas midfielder Vitolo remains out injured.
Possible line-ups
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Isco; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo
Sevilla (4-2-3-1): Rico; Mariano, Rami, Kolodziejczak, Tremoulinas; Iborra, Cristoforo; Reyes, Krohn-Dehli, Konoplyanka; Gameiro
Team Form
Since the 0-1 loss to city rivals Atletico Madrid at home, Real Madrid have gone on to win each of their next 4 games, 3 of which have come in the league. The run of form should give them the confidence to overcome the Sevilla-shaped challenge, and will also be armoured with the strikepower of the stellar ‘BBC’ trio after a long time.
With the mouth-watering El Clasico up next in the fixture list, it is imperative for Blancos to rack-up maximum points from this game to keep their faint title hopes burning for another day.
Last 5 matches: L-W-W-W-W (Last result: Las Palmas 1-2 Real Madrid)
In a very identical scheme of things, Sevilla too need to pick up maximum points from the remaining for a direct qualification in the next season’s Champions Leagu. Trailing fourth-placed Villareal by 5 points, Los Nervionenses have a lot of catch-up to do in little time. But their recent form suggests they are ready for it.
Ending a run of 2 consecutive stalemates, Unai Emery’s men have won their last 2 games in a row, one in Europe and one in the league, with a combined score of 7-2. The prolific form of Kevin Gamiero has been central to the revival as the striker has been firing goals left, right and centre.
Last 5 matches: W-D-D-W-W (Last result: Sevilla 3-0 Basel)
Key stats
- Real Madrid have won each of their last 7 home games against Sevilla since the 4-3 defeat back in December 2008.
- Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 24 goals against Sevilla – the most he has scored against one team.
- Real Madrid have won 12 of the 15 games played at home in the league this term.
- Los Blancos have failed to score in just 2 home games – against Barcelona (0-4) and against Atletico Madrid (0-1).
- Sevilla are the only team apart from Hellas Verona of Serie A not have won a single away game in the entire season.
Key battles
Rafael Varane vs Kevin Gamiero
With the old-guards Sergio Ramos and Pepe sidelined for the important clash, the defensive mantle falls on Rafael Varane, who is set to start in the centre of the defence for the hosts. Although the centre-back partnership of his and Nacho’s isn’t the strongest Real could play, but it has gained greater significance heading into this tie given the suspension of the aforementioned duo.
The Frenchman will be tasked with quelling the threat coming from in-form striker Kevin Gamiero, who has struck 17 times in all competitions this season. Given the spaces left by Madrid between the defence and the midfield and the midfield and the attack, his French compatriot will relish surging forward.
In such a case, Varane needs to ensure the gaps are plugged and also thwart Gamiero from taking shots at goal from inside the box.
Prediction
Given Sevilla’s miserable record away from home, this should be a walk in the garden for Real Madrid. Their home dominance has been supreme and have struck 56 times in 15 games there, an astounding average of over 3 goals per game.
The visitors are staring down the barrel of a gun already.
Predicted score: Real Madrid 3-1 Sevilla
Betting Odds (bet365)
Real Madrid – 4/11
Draw – 9/2
Sevilla – 7/1
