Match Preview

Real Madrid will face off against Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday. The two clubs are currently tied in the league table at 28 points apiece. Real is coming off a nil-nil draw with Bilbao, while Sevilla is coming off of a 2-0 win over Deportivo. While the matchup between these two sides have always been a bit historic, this is an even bigger match for one club to jump the other in the standings. The winner of this match, if it is for all 3 points, will take the 3rd spot in La Liga, that is until the result of the Betis-Atletico match on Sunday. Should Celta Vigo manage to win against Valenica tomorrow, it’s possible one of these sides will be tied for 2nd with them as well.

So, indeed, the stakes are high and could start to separate the pack a bit in the league table. This is a big one for both clubs, one where the winner must take all 3 points available. Needless to say, both clubs should come out at their best. For Real, this might take a bit more work to do.

Injuries

Real is back to having a lot of missing names on their roster again. Though two are only due to injury, there are still some key names out for this match that may tilt the result a bit.

Carvajal, Ramos, and Casemiro will all miss the Sevilla match due to suspension. Carvajal and Casemiro both picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season against Bilbao, meaning they will miss one match each. Ramos will also miss because of the red card he sustained against Bilbao as well.

Bale is still out with injury. This will be his second week of missed action after coming on against Fuenlabrada. No timetable for his return just yet, hopefully soon.

Varane is the other name on the injury list this weekend. He was subbed off against Dortmund in the early portions of the match. While it seemed like just a scare, it appears it was serious enough for him to miss the Sevilla match. Yet another blow to the defending-end for Real.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

With all of the injuries and suspensions in mind for Real, they released their rosters for the match earlier Friday. Based on this, their starting XI could look something like:

Navas; Achraf, Nacho, Vallejo, Marcelo; Modric, Kovacic, Kroos; Isco, Ronaldo, Benzema

With Mateo Kovacic back now, this gives Zidane the opportunity to actually start him over Casemiro. It’s highly likely he will be the one to replace the Brazilian, though Zidane could always throw a curveball and start Asensio.

Achraf Hakimi will most likely take back his spot at filling in for Carvajal. He did so while Carvajal was out with his heart condition, no doubt it won’t be any different against Sevilla.

Nacho and Vallejo will fill in for Varane and Ramos. The only two reserve CBs on the roster will pair up and attempt to patch two major holes in the defense.

Expect to see Asensio, Vasquez, and Ceballos to come off the bench as subs.

Sevilla

Sevilla also released their full squad, based on that they could look like this:

Soria; Mercado, Geis, Lenglet, Escudero; Vazquez, Pizarro, Banega; Navas, Sarabia, Ben Yedder

HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA

Date: 12/09/2017

Time: 16:15 CET, 10:15pm EST, 07:15am Pacific.

Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain.

Available TV: BeIN Sports (USA), Sky Sports Football (UK), BeIN La Liga (Spain).

Available Streaming: BeIN Sports (USA), Fubo.TV (EVERY Real Madrid game with a high-quality and legal stream, click here to sign up and benefit from a summer discount for new members and Managing Madrid readers).

Prediction

As mentioned before, this match is critical for both squads. Real cannot afford to draw or lose, especially to a team they’re tied in the table with. They also can’t afford to fall back any further behind Valencia and Barcelona. This match will not come easy, and it certainly hasn’t been made any easier with three suspensions and two injuries to the squad.

While the attack really hasn’t suffered any serious blows for this match, the defending certainly has. Vallejo and Nacho have looked pretty shaky at times when one is paired with either Ramos or Varane, paired together, though, is an even bigger blow to confidence. Real will have to work to prevent goals from going in on the opposite end of the pitch. Hopefully, Vallejo and Nacho will surprise.

Kovacic should do well in Casemiro’s spot, he has all the skill to do so. The offense should show up and they should be able to score at least a few times on Sevilla. It’s time for Cristiano to show why he won another Ballon D’Or.

4-2 Real Madrid-Sevilla