Sevilla vs Real Madrid
First meets third place at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for the La Liga match of the weekend, when Real Madrid visits league leaders Sevilla.
Los Sevillanos will see this as a chance to exert their title credentials, slim though they may be, against a Los Blancos side wounded by a Champions League defeat in Paris. And the Estadio Ramon Sanchez is something of a bogey ground for Zinedine Zidane’s men.
But the biggest intrigue of the game is the meeting of Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui with his former club, which he managed briefly at the beginning of last season before being shown the door.
There’s a lot at stake in this one and fans of both teams will be watching the La Liga 2019 updates from elsewhere, particularly in Madrid, where second placed Atleti is at home to Celta Vigo.
Talking Points
Julen rebuilding his reputation
After leaving the Spain national side, on the eve of the Russia 2018 World Cup, to join Real Madrid, and then having a torrid time at the Bernabeu, Lopetegui’s stock dropped somewhat over the past 12 months. But he’s making a good recovery in Seville, so far.
Sevilla has made a blistering start to the campaign and sits at the of La Liga on ten points, in stark contrast to last season’s four points at this stage which left Los Sevillanos in the bottom half.
Lopetegui has his team playing slick football and he has plenty of options up front.
New signing Javier Hernandez linked up well with El Haddadi Munir in the 0-3 Europa League victory over Qarabag, both scoring, while Luuk de Jong and Oliver Torres were preferred in a well executed victory over Alaves last weekend.
But it’s midfield man Joan Jordan who scored the winner in the Basque to make it two for the season. And Lopetegui’s main man is skipper Jesus Navas, who returned to Sevilla after a stint in the Premier League with Manchester City. His heart is in Seville, adding 62 appearances to the 285 he made between 2002 and 2013.
Real’s Champions League shocker
Real Madrid suffered a Champions League humbling at the hands of Paris St Germain, and that has led some impatient fans to call for a change at the top after Zidane’s return to the Champions League ended in disaster. Los Blancos had two goals disallowed, but that apart they failed to register a single shot on target, and some reports in Spain claim it’s the first time in 578 games Real Madrid has had no shots on target in a game.
Los Blancos moved in the summer transfer market to sign Eden Hazard, Ferland Mendy and Luka Jovic and Hazard was alongside Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale in what proved to be a toothless attack. Benzema has been in better form in the league, scoring four already.
Sergio Ramos is as commanding as ever at the back, but it is in midfield where ZZ has problems, having failed to land Manchester United’s Paul Pogba in the summer while allowing Dani Ceballos to head to Arsenal.
The betting markets still have faith in Los Blancos. La Liga 2019 betting odds pitch Barca as odds on favourites, but Zidane’s team is the second favourite, with Sevilla tipped to finish fourth.
History
History is in Los Blancos’ favour with 36 wins to Sevilla’s 16 and there have only been four draws in the last 56 games.
Lopetegui was in charge at Real Madrid when they suffered a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Sevilla, last season, with Andre Silva helping himself to a brace.
Recent form favours the hosts; Sevilla has won four from six, and is unbeaten, while Real has won two, draw two and lost two.
And Seville is not a happy hunting ground for Los Blancos having failed to win there in five attempts.
Betting Tip
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Sevilla vs Real Madrid | Sevilla Asian Handicap 0.00 @ 1.94 |
| September 23, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
This is set to be a cracking contest with Sevilla at odds of 2.59 to win and Los Blancos at 2.53 with the draw at 3.45 here at SBOBET.
It’s likely there will be goals in this game, and the probable appearance of Eden Hazard gives Los Blancos the ability to carve open any defence. But while Real Madrid is wounded, the hosts will be full of confidence and have every chance of preserving the status of their home as a bogey ground for the Madrid giants.
Lopetegui has two massive incentives, to show his former employers what they have missed out on and to keep his side at the top of the league.
I give Sevilla the edge and for an alternative bet 2-1 is available at odds of 9.75.
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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