Soccer Spain LaLiga Prediction

Sevilla vs Real Madrid - Match Preview

⚽ 26 May 2023 - 17:00 GMT +0

Sevilla lost ground in their pursuit of the final La Liga (LL) European qualification place by drawing 1-1 with already-relegated Elche on Wednesday, but they can still qualify via other means as following this clash with Real Madrid, they take on Roma in the UEFA Europa League final. That leaves manager José Luis Mendilibar with plenty to think about as he tries to extend a six-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W3, D3).

The last three of those games each featured a red card, but if Sevilla misses out on Europe next term, they’ll rue their slow start to the league season having spent most of it in the bottom half. Dramatically improved home league form this calendar year has helped them climb the standings (W7, D2, L2) which should give them hope of victory here.

But Real Madrid will have plenty to say about that as they haven’t lost an H2H anywhere since September 2018 (W7, D1), and moved ahead of Atlético into second place by beating Rayo Vallecano 2-1 on Wednesday. Both that game and this one were shifted forward to give Sevilla more time to prepare for their European final, but they’ll be in no mood to offer more favours.

Instead, they’ll be seeking to end a run of three consecutive LL away defeats, the first time they’ve suffered such a sequence of results since October 2018, one that ironically started at this ground. Even more coincidentally, the last time that Los Blancos crashed to four successive LL away defeats was way back in February 1992, and you can guess which side completed that sequence: Sevilla!

📋 Players to watch: Erik Lamela has scored both of Sevilla’s last two goals and netted the second goal of the game on both prior occasions he’s played against Madrid. Rodrygo’s late winner for Madrid against Rayo was the fourth goal of his last six to arrive after the 55th minute.

⚡ Hot stat: Ten of the last 11 H2H halves produced goals.