Real Madrid will be bidding to return to winning ways in La Liga when they welcome Sevilla to Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon.
Los Blancos, who are third in the La Liga table, won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday courtesy of a 3-0 success over Pachuca, while Sevilla recorded a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo in their last fixture.
Match preview
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Real Madrid became the inaugural winners of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, with Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior finding the back of the net in a three-goal success over Pachuca in Qatar.
Los Blancos' attention is now back on La Liga, and they will be aiming to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight this weekend, having drawn 3-3 with Rayo Vallecano in their last league fixture.
There is a fascinating title race developing in Spain, as the top two Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are level on points (38), with Real Madrid in third, just one point behind; both Atletico and Real Madrid have played a game fewer than Barcelona, and the top two will lock horns on Saturday night, so it is a crucial matchday when it comes to the championship.
Real Madrid have a record of 11 wins, four draws and two defeats from their 17 league matches this term, while they are the second-highest goalscorers, finding the back of the net on 37 occasions, with Barcelona at the top of that list on 50.
Los Blancos have won seven and lost one of their eight home league games this season, and they will be welcoming a Sevilla outfit with just one league success on their travels during the 2024-25 campaign.
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Sevilla beat Real Madrid twice in 2018, but they are currently on an 11-game winless run against the capital side in all competitions, suffering nine defeats in the process.
Los Nervionenses are without an away success over Real Madrid in La Liga since December 2008, which is an indication of the size of their task this weekend, but they will certainly be the fresher of the two sides.
Sevilla have not been in action since a 1-0 success over Celta Vigo last Saturday, and they have won three of their last five matches during a solid run of form, with their only defeat in that period proving to be a narrow one - 4-3 away to Atletico Madrid.
Garcia Pimienta's side are currently 11th in the table, boasting a record of six wins, four draws and seven defeats from their 17 matches to collect 22 points, which has left them just five points behind fifth-placed Villarreal.
Sevilla finished 14th in La Liga last season, which proved to be their worst top-flight campaign since being relegated in 2001, so there is plenty of room for improvement this term, and there have been some positive signs despite again sitting in the bottom half of the table.
Team News
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Real Madrid will be without the services of Vinicius this weekend, as the Brazil international is suspended due to the milestone yellow card that he picked up in the clash with Rayo on December 14.
Eder Militao, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal are also missing through injury, but Ferland Mendy is being tipped to return to the squad, while Mbappe was involved against Pachuca after overcoming a muscular problem.
Jude Bellingham, Thibaut Courtois and Federico Valverde did not train with their teammates on Friday, but it is believed that all three will be available this weekend despite concerns over an issue which the former suffered against Pachuca.
Brahim Diaz is expected to be the player to benefit from Vinicius's absence, while Aurelien Tchouameni is set to continue in the middle of the defence for the La Liga champions.
As for Sevilla, Djibril Sow, Adria Pedrosa, Chidera Ejuke, Rafa Mir and Tanguy Nianzou will miss the match through injury.
Isaac Romero is set to return to the starting lineup as the centre-forward, while there will be a spot in the final third of the field for Dodi Lukebakio, who has seven league goals to his name during the 2024-25 campaign.
Manu Bueno was on the scoresheet against Celta and will continue in central midfield, with the 20-year-old making a big impression on what was his first appearance of the campaign.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, F Garcia; Valverde, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Brahim; Mbappe
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Montiel, Bade, Gudelj, Salas; Bueno, Agoume, Saul; Navas, Romero, Lukebakio
We say: Real Madrid 2-1 Sevilla
Sevilla have not travelled particularly well this season, but they are still capable of making this a very tricky match for a Real Madrid side that would not have had long to prepare for the clash; we are expecting a close scoreline, but Real Madrid have more than enough quality to secure all three points on Sunday afternoon.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
