Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla
There will be lots of attention on the Civitas Metropolitano in Madrid this weekend as one of the most eye-catching fixtures in La Liga is the entertainment on offer.
Two of Argentina’s finest managers will come face to face on the touchline as Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone will shake hands with Sevilla’s Jorge Sampaoli…and then hostilities will begin. These two giants of Spanish football are used to competing for European places but this time the match has serious implications at both ends of the table.
After challenging in the top four in recent campaigns Sevilla have been stuck in the bottom group throughout this season. They have had some better La Liga 2023 results in recent weeks but are not out of the woods yet, in 14th place and just two points clear of the drop zone.
Meanwhile, Los Rojiblancos are at the right end of the league table, in fourth place and in a fierce battle, alongside Real Sociedad and Real Betis, for a place at Europe’s top table next season.
Atletico come into the game on the back of a hard fought draw in the Madrid derby, which took them up to fourth place in 42 points, while Sevilla were on the wrong end of a five goal thriller at home to Osasuna.
At SBOTOP odds of 1.68 to win, Los Rojiblancos are a good bet to hand out some more punishment to Sevilla on Saturday.
Talking Points
Savic back in the fold for Atleti
After a frustrating first half of the campaign for Los Rojiblancos they have recently got back to basics and become that tough outfit which is so hard to beat. The return of Antoine Griezmann and departure of Joao Felix, after initial concerns, looks like a couple of moves which will pay off. And some uncharacteristically erratic defending seems to have been resolved as Simeone’s men have conceded just two goals from the last five games.
One of the problems Atleti have had has been the self destructive run of red cards that centre back Stefan Savic picked up but, on his return last week, he put in a brilliant performance at the heart of defence to keep Real Madrid’s prolific front line at bay. Alongside Jose Gimenez, who scored Atleti’s goal in the derby, he forms one of the best central defensive partnerships in Europe and, providing his disciplinary howlers are behind him, Savic will be a key figure in the run-in.
And Simeone will be delighted how Griezmann has settled back into the groove and is top scoring with seven goals and seven assists. Atleti met Athletic Bilbao a couple of weeks ago and the Frenchman’s clinical finish late in the game gave Atleti a trademark 1-0 win.
Los Rojiblancos seem to have their steely focus back again and that makes them devilishly hard to beat.
Two steps forward and one back for Sevilla
This time last season Sevilla were in second place; so to find themselves down in 14th as we move into March is something of a shock for their fans. And, while things have been picking up for Sampaoli’s men, every time they seem to be pulling out of the malaise they have a setback.
A home win over Mallorca and a useful point away to Rayo Vallecano is a decent return, but the good work was undone when they lost 3-2 at home to Osasuna. You’d expect more than four goals from Sevilla’s top scorer Youssef En Nesyri and he’s bagged two in the last three games, which shines a highlight on their problems in the first half of the campaign. But while the domestic league has been a slog Los Sevillistas are still in the Europa League after beating PSV Eindhoven 3-2 on aggregate, winning the home leg 3-0.
Sampaoli just needs his team to find consistency; otherwise it could be a nerve jangling run-in.
History
Sevilla have actually had the better of the head to head encounters with Atleti, leading by 21 to 19, with 20 draws in the last 60 meetings. But they have not won at the Metropolitano on their last four visits and were beaten 2-0 when they met los Rojiblancos in Seville this season.
Recent form favours Atleti with three wins, two draws and one defeat, a Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Real Madrid, while Sevilla have won two, drawn one and lost three.
Betting Tip
The La Liga 2023 betting odds don’t have a lot of faith in Sevilla who are at 3.97 to win or 3.54 to draw and, the way los Rojiblancos gave Real Madrid such a hard time last week, I’m inclined to agree.
Sevilla are still mis-firing too often while Atleti are beginning to hit their target with ominous regularity.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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