What: Spanish La Liga
Who: Sevilla vs Real Madrid
When: Wednesday 26th March, 2014, at 21:00 UK time
Where: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville, Spain
Winning Is Possible
Realising that their adversaries suffered a hefty blow following their defeat to Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, Sevilla are well-placed to make it two setbacks in the space of a few days when they host Real Madrid at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. However, with the White club very wounded after their latest setback, the Rojiblancos will have to be afraid of any potential backlash their opponents might display.
Sevilla have lost five of the past six meetings that pitted them against Los Blancos in all competitions, with their last win over them being on 15th September, 2012 in a 1-0 triumph, courtesy of a strike from Piotr Trochowski. And again on this occasion, the German midfielder believes that his team can still win the spoils should they play their cards right.
“We play at home and everything is possible, because if we have a good day and things turn out in our favour, we can win. We should prepare our games with this mentality. Now all teams respect us more and we have to use this factor in our advantage”, declared the ex-Bayern Munich man.
Clasico Blues
Clasico meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid rarely fail to live up to the hype, and the last edition that was disputed last Sunday night was no exception, as it had its share of controversial refereeing, diving, play-acting, and of course, sending-offs. Having lost 4-3 against Barcelona – their first loss in all competitions since the corresponding fixture last October – Real Madrid have relinquished league leadership to neighbours Atletico Madrid and are just a point in front of the Blaugrana now. Carlo Ancelotti needs to rally his players in order to ensure that the latest slip-up won’t be costly.
Knowing that the fight for the championship is far from over, Ancelotti issued a rallying cry to his players after the loss to the Blaugrana, as he aims to shift his team’s focus onto the upcoming match against Sevilla.
“Now we have to forget this match and think about Wednesday [against Sevilla], which could be a key game in the season. We have to be happy with the way we played this game, luck was not on our side but the team proved to be fit and we have the drive and ability to put this match quickly behind us”, commented the former Paris Saint-Germain boss.
Recent form
Sevilla:
Sevilla 4-1 Real Valladolid (16/03; La Liga)
Real Betis 0-2 Sevilla (20/03; Europa League)
Osasuna 1-2 Sevilla (23/03; La Liga)
Real Madrid:
Malaga 0-1 Real Madrid (15/03; La Liga)
Real Madrid 3-1 Schalke 04 (18/03; Champions League)
Real Madrid 3-4 Barcelona (23/03; La Liga)
Key absences
Sevilla: Sebastian Cristoforo; Daniel Carrico; Denis Cheryshev
Real Madrid: Jese; Alvaro Arbeloa; Sami Khedira; Angel di Maria (suspended); Sergio Ramos (suspended)
Players to watch
Sevilla – Kevin Gameiro: The striker is amidst Sevilla’s best men this season with nine goals to his name so far in the league. Facing a wounded Real Madrid and without the presence of Sergio Ramos in defence, he will aim to make it a bad night for Los Merengues.
Real Madrid – Cristiano Ronaldo: It is times like these where Madridistas turn to their adored figure to guide them back to winning ways. The Portuguese scored a controversial penalty against Barcelona, but it proved to be futile in the end as the Catalans ran out winners. He will be very motivated for this one.
Match Prediction
This game will be very important for the 32-time league champions as they hope to get back to winning ways, especially with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona not allowing them any breathing space. The Andalucians are on a four-game winning streak in La Liga, but the visitors cannot afford to relax anymore. Expect a narrow win for Los Blancos.
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