Carlo Ancelotti confirmed during yesterday's press conference that Toni Kroos, James Rodríguez and Cristiano Ronaldo will start against Sevilla. This was certainly expected, but this Real Madrid team will be very different from the one that lifted the Champions League last May. Ancelotti has decided to implement a possession-oriented style with the acquisition of the one player in Europe who best interprets that game.
This night, Real Madrid should have at least 70% of the possession. That's what you can expect from a team with Toni Kroos and Modric in the midfield. However, it will be very important for Real Madrid not to become predictable, especially considering that we're still in August and there are so many mechanisms that the team must learn and get used to in order to become brilliant.
And that's where Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale come in. The BBC will have to convert their chances in order for Real's midfield to completely dominate the game. With a little help from James Rodríguez, these three players have shown how reliable they are in terms of scoring, so this match will be decided -once again- by the best attacking trio in Europe. Should they struggle, Kroos and Modric's control of the game might not be enough for Real to win.
Sevilla's Unai Emery announced that his team is willing to defend tightly. He also ruled Kevin Gameiro out of the game, so expect Carlos Bacca to be a big threat on counterattacks just like he was during Sevilla's 2-1 win against Real Madrid last season. But this Sevilla is clearly a worse team than their 2013-14 version. Losing midfielder Ivan Rakitic to FC Barcelona was a big blow, and they also part ways with Stéphane Mbia, who was on loan from Queens Park Rangers. Carriço and Krychowiak will now be the starters in Emery's midfield, and it's quite obvious that they are not at Mbia and Rakitic's level. On the other hand, Sevilla are hoping to see Iago Aspas -on loan from Liverpool- and Denis Suárez -on loan from Barcelona B- blossom into players able to contribute this very same season. While Suárez looks promising, it might still be too early for him to take that kind of responsibility.
Time: 20:45 CET, 14:45 EST.
TV: Canal+, TVE (Spain), Fox Deportes, Fox Sports 1 (USA), Sky Sports 5, ITV 4 (UK).
Players to watch: Toni Kroos and James Rodríguez (Real Madrid), Denis Suárez and Carlos Bacca (Sevilla).
Prediction: Real Madrid win 2-0.