Real Madrid will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga when they travel to Estadio Ramon on Saturday evening to tackle Sevilla in their penultimate match of their 2022-23 campaign.
Los Blancos will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, while Sevilla, who will face Roma in the Europa League final next week, drew 1-1 with Elche on the same night.
Sevilla’s main focus at this stage of the campaign will undoubtedly be the Europa League final against Roma next Wednesday, and a victory in that match would see them qualify for next season’s Champions League.
However, Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side will not want to completely discount the league, as they will have no European football next season as it stands, with the team currently ninth in the table on 49 points.
Sevilla can no longer finish in a Europa League position, but they are only one point behind seventh-placed Athletic Bilbao in the battle for a Europa Conference League playoff spot, and Los Nervionenses will want to have the safety net of that competition if they lose against Roma.
Mendilibar’s team have drawn their two league matches against Real Betis and Elche since securing their position in the Europa League final, but they have only lost once in the Spain’s top flight since the middle of March, with the team putting their early-season struggles behind them.
Sevilla, who will end their La Liga campaign away to Real Sociedad on June 4, have been inconsistent at home this season, only picking up 26 points from 18 matches, but Real Madrid have lost seven times on their travels in the league this season, with Los Blancos below the standard that they set last season.
Real Madrid will end the 2022-23 campaign with the Copa del Rey trophy, but they have fallen comfortably short in La Liga, currently sitting 11 points behind champions Barcelona, who have lost their last two.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are instead in a battle with Atletico Madrid for second position, currently sitting one point above the Red and Whites with two games left, and they will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 success over Rayo Vallecano at Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
It did appear that the points would be shared when Raul de Tomas cancelled out an opener from Karim Benzema, but Rodrygo came up with an 89th-minute winner for Los Blancos, who lost 1-0 at Valencia on Sunday in a match overshadowed by the alleged racist chants directed at Vinicius Junior.
Real Madrid also fell just short in the Champions League this season, losing to Manchester City in the semi-finals of the competition, but they will be bidding to end their league campaign on a positive note, with their last match taking place at home to Athletic Bilbao on June 4.
The 35-time Spanish champions have won each of their last three La Liga games against Sevilla, including a 3-1 success at Bernabeu back in October, while they have not lost to Saturday’s opponents in the league since September 2018 at Estadio Ramon.
Sevilla will be without the services of Pape Gueye on Saturday due to the red card that the central midfielder picked up in the draw with basement side Elche last time out.
Head coach Mendilibar will not be taking any chances when it comes to the fitness of his players ahead of the Europa League final, so Papu Gomez, Suso, Tanguy Nianzou, Marcao and Joan Jordan are also set to miss out.
There will be changes from the side that started against Elche, with Ivan Rakitic, Gonzalo Montiel, Rafa Mir and Oliver Torres likely to be introduced into the XI for the home team here.
As for Real Madrid, Vinicius has had his ban overturned following the red card that he picked up against Valencia, but the Brazilian is out of this match due to knee inflammation.
Benzema is also missing due to a cut that he suffered during the early stages of the clash with Rayo, while Marco Asensio has been ruled out with a muscular issue, so Eden Hazard is in line for a rare start.
Ancelotti is set to make changes to his starting side for this match, with Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouameni in line for spots in the XI, while Eder Militao is also expected to return in a defensive position for the Copa del Rey holders.
Mariano Diaz, who is set to leave Bernabeu on a free transfer this summer, was not involved against Rayo through injury and remains out, while Dani Carvajal is suspended.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Montiel, Bade, Rekik, Telles; Fernando, Rakitic; Torres, Lamela, Ocampos; Mir
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Camavinga, Tchouameni, Ceballos; Valverde, Rodrygo, Hazard
We say: Sevilla 1-1 Real Madrid
Sevilla’s focus is currently on the Europa League final, and the home side will be resting some important players for this match. Real Madrid are also unlikely to be at full strength, so we can see a draw in this game, which both managers would likely accept if it were offered ahead of kickoff here.
