Real Madrid vs Sevilla
La Liga’s game of the weekend is set to be played out in front of a packed Santiago Bernabeu and it’s sure to be an epic battle. La Liga Real Madrid vs Sevilla is on!
Two of Spain’s biggest teams are neck and neck in the table, in third and fourth place, and Sevilla’s boss Pablo Machin will be happier. His team is locked on 33 points with Santiago Solari’s Real Madrid, and this is a game the hosts desperately need to win to keep their domestic season alive.
Los Blancos are at odds of 14.00 to win La Liga with SBOBET football, while Sevilla are at 55.00; but a more realistic objective is to hold off fifth-placed Alaves, just a point further back. Abelardo’s team opens the weekend’s football with a trip to Getafe, and a win will slot the underdogs into a top-four place. It won’t be easy as Getafe are riding high in sixth, but any positive result for the visitors will put pressure on Los Blancos and Sevilla.
Santiago’s team is beset by injury while Machin has already bolstered his attack, landing Barca’s Munir El Haddadi in a cut-price €1M deal. It’s a big game, a huge game, with plenty of intrigue, and you can get all the Real Madrid vs Sevilla news right here with us at SBOBET.
Talking points
Is there a role for Isco at Madrid?
One of the mysteries of European football has been the fall from grace of Real Madrid’s Isco. The influential attacking midfielder has been frozen out since voicing his concern that Eden Hazard’s rumoured move to Madrid would push him further back in the pecking order.
But is Solari missing a trick? Since replacing the sacked Julen Lopetegui, the Argentine hasn’t set the world on fire at the Bernabeu but, in his defence, he has been beset by some injuries to key players. Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Toni Kroos and Thibaut Courtois are all on the list.
And with Karim Benzema suffering a fractured finger, Isco played in the Copa del Rey second-leg defeat to Leganes on Wednesday; he didn’t impress, but surely a happy Isco would be an asset to any side, let alone a struggling one. Solari isn’t blessed with attacking options. Benzema is top-scoring with seven; and with Bale also likely to be out, centre-back Sergio Ramos could be Los Blancos’ top scorer on show, with four league goals…unthinkable in January!
Los Blancos may feel they have a better chance of defending their Champions League crown than winning La Liga at long odds, but they must make a show of intent against top-four rivals or the natives will start to get restless.
Sevilla’s striking options
The recent signing of Munir El Haddadi from Barcelona has given Machin more striking options. The Spain international has struggled for game time at the Camp Nou but he will provide Machin with top-class competition for his in-form strike partnership of Wissam Ben Yedder and Andre Silva. The attacking duo has 17 goals between them so far this season and scored the three, Silva two of them when Sevilla beat Real Madrid 3-0 earlier in the season.
Sevilla caught a cold in the Basque Country last weekend, losing to a resurgent Athletic Bilbao by two goals to nil. And last night, they lost again to Gaizka Garitano’s team in the Copa del Rey second leg by 1-0, but a two-goal first-leg lead was enough to see them through. Machin took the chance to rest key players including Pablo Sarabia, Ever Banega and Silva, with a trip to the Bernabeu clearly his focus.
You could say Sevilla are over-achieving: they were seventh on 29 points this time last season, so a third position with 33 points is an impressive return.
History
Los Blancos have won 35 of the 55 clashes between these two teams since 1993, with Sevilla picking up 16 victories and splitting the points four times. So our Real Madrid vs Sevilla betting tips will buck the trend if we went for a draw but, you know what…that might not be such a bad shout.
Home advantage has been key in recent exchanges, with Sevilla winning three of the last five, all in Seville, while Real Madrid handed out two spankings, 5-0 and 4-1, at the Bernabeu. When playing at home, Real Madrid have not lost to FC Sevilla in their last 11 encounters. Meanwhile, the visitors have lost just three away games this season, winning three and drawing four.
Betting tip
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Real Madrid vs Sevilla | Double Chance Sevilla or Draw @ 1.98 |
| January 19 03:15 (GMT+8) |
Home advantage may be key in this clash, and Los Blancos will expect to win at odds of 1.72. The draw is at 3.75 and Sevilla at 4.50; and while the visitors have lost their last two games, I think they’ll be right up for this match.
I suspect one of their three hot shots could well hit the target and if so, Los Blancos’ stretched attack will need to respond in kind. Step up, Sergio Ramos!
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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