Atletico Madrid have seen their trophy dreams die on three separate fronts over the past few weeks. Their hopes of winning La Liga now look all but over, but they’ll be hoping to at least stop the rot when they travel to Sevilla this weekend.
There’d have been quite a gloomy mood in the home camp too this week, following a 2-1 defeat to Real Betis in the derby last time out. That was their first Seville derby defeat in La Liga since 2018, but it wasn’t a surprise given Los Verdiblancos have been much the more impressive of the two teams in the city this term.
Despite that, Sevilla are still only four points off the European places in a congested mid-table heading into matchday 30. A win here would boost their chances of making one of the lesser continental competitions, while Atletico Madrid need all three points if they want to retain even in the faintest of title hopes.
Diego Simeone’s side were beaten at home by Barcelona for the second time in a month in midweek, as they exited the Copa del Rey. They’ve now won just three out of 11 matches in all competitions.
How the bookies view it: Atleti to bounce back with a win?
The bookies make Atletico Madrid the 6/5 favourites for this game. They don’t discount the prospect of a surprise home win though, with Sevilla on offer at 13/5 to compound the current misery of their opponents. Meanwhile, the draw is available at 12/5.
Recent head-to-head: Home advantage key
Sevilla have lost on their last four trips to the Estadio Metropolitano, including a 4-3 defeat earlier this term, but they’ve found this fixture much more to their liking in Andalusia. They’ve won three of their last four home matches against Atletico Madrid which bodes well for their chances on Sunday.
Players to watch: Alvarez to lead the line
While it has ultimately been a disappointing campaign overall for Atletico Madrid, Julian Alvarez will reflect on a positive first season in Spain on a personal level. The Argentina international has scored 23 goals in all competitions for Atleti and he’s the 12/5 favourite to score anytime in this game.
Predicted Lineups
It could be all change in midfield from Garcia Pimienta, with Saul potentially returning to the starting lineup to face his parent club. Sevilla also have fellow midfielders Lucien Agoume and Djibril Sow available again following suspensions.
From a visiting perspective, Simeone is likely to go strong, although he may make one or two changes where fresh legs are needed after Wednesday’s exertions in the cup. Angel Correa and Jose Maria Gimenez miss out due to suspensions, but there are no notable injury concerns.
Sevilla: Nyland, Pedrosa, Salas, Bade, Carmona, Sow, Agoume, Saul, Vargas, Romero, Lukebakio.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Galan, Lenglet, Le Normand, Molina, Gallagher, Barrios, De Paul, Simeone, Alvarez, Griezmann.
Anything else catch the eye?
With seven goals in the last meeting of these clubs, and with Atletico Madrid’s last three league games all serving up goals at each end, punters may want to consider backing both teams to score at 1/1 here with Betfred.
The corner stats also make interesting reading ahead of this game. Atleti have a very low average of 3.57 corners per away match in La Liga this term, and they can be backed at 1/1 with Paddy Power to have under 4.5 corners at the Sanchez-Pizjuan.
It’s also worth noting that first halves have tended to be very tight on this ground this season, with 50% of Sevilla home games being level at the break. You can back the draw at 21/20 in the half-time result market with Unibet.
This La Liga match between Sevilla and Atletico Madrid will be played on and kick off at 15:15. Check below for our tipsters best Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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