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Zinedine Zidane's side will play Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu this Saturday on Matchday 15 of the La Liga. The match is set to be a goalscoring thriller as the 4th and 5th placed sides take on each other with both teams having won the same number of points in the competition so far.
Team form
Shockingly and unexpectedly, going into this one, Sevilla is the more in-form side having won 7 of their last 10 games, while the home side has managed to win just 5.
The Los Blancos haven't been in good form this season and have had a below-par start to the season. After winning the La Liga last season, Real's performance has been really disappointing this season.
Real have been unsteady and inconsistent right from the start of the season. The Madrid based side has seen some shocking results coming their way in the La Liga. Out of the 14 league games this season, the Whites have 4 draws and 2 losses.
Each and every team loses and has ups and downs, but losing to newcomers Girona and 11th placed Betis, is certainly not acceptable from a team of their class and calibre. Sometimes, losing does not hurt as much as playing a draw.
Real have drawn against 14th and 16th placed Levante and Bilbao respectively, which would have left Zidane with various questions. Being the defending league champions, a lot more is expected from them. After winning against Dortmund recently, Zidane's men would be pumped up and would look to win this one as well.
Although this one is definitely not going to be a bed of roses for the home side as Sevilla has been equally good, Zidane needs to have his men well prepared to take all three points from this clash as they still look to find their search for supremacy successful.
Sevilla has been doing well in the La Liga over the last few years and they are continuing the run this season. After drawing in their first league game of the season, they have done pretty well, losing just 3 matches since then.
The losses came against Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, who are among the top three in the league standings this season and the losses are quite understandable and justified. Sevilla go into this one, having won 3 of their last 5 games. They recently played a 1-1 draw against Maribor in the UEFA Champions League and Berizzo would be looking to improve his side's performance for this big encounter against Zidane's side.
Real Madrid- Team news
The defending La Liga champions will be playing without the defending trio of Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane and also without Casemiro. Ramos picked up a red card against Bilbao and is suspended, while Carvajal and Casemiro will miss out after picking up their 5th yellow of this season.
The French defender-Varane will be on the sidelines due to an injury that he picked up in the team's UEFA Champions League clash against Dortmund, further adding to Zinedine Zidane's defensive concerns. The absence of these key player might cost Real some points as they don't have many options to replace them as well.
Sevilla- Team news
Eduardo Berizzo willl have to go to Madrid without Daniel Carriço and Nicolás Pareja. Both the defenders are out with injuries and having Ronaldo and Benzema in the oppositions' attack, their absence might turn out to be costly.
Stats and Impact of the win for both sides
Since 2010, the two teams have played 20 times and Sevilla have managed to win just 4 out of them. Real Madrid have dominated Sevilla in the past, winning 14 games out of the last 20 played between each other. In the last 5 games between the two Spanish sides, Real have won 2, while Sevilla have won just a single game. The rest have ended as draws.
The last time these two played each other, it was a brace from Ronaldo and a goal each by Nacho and Kroos, that helped Real win 4-1. Sevilla have always given a tough fight to Real, but it isn't that easy to get the better of a team like Real Madrid.
The match will be Real's 8th at home and Sevilla's 8th away from home in the La Liga this season. If this factor is kept in mind, Real's chances look better than the visitors. Though the home side hasn't been at their best at the Santiago Bernabeu this season, having the home crowd around does help. Sevilla have also been poor in their 7 away matches till now, managing to win just 3, grabbing only 9 points.
A win would take either Madrid or Sevilla to 31 points, on equal terms with Valencia, who have been a surprise package this season and are currently placed 2nd in the league standings. However, both sides would also want Atletico and Valencia to lose their respective matches, to close the gap up top.
Prediction
Real Madrid 2-1 Sevilla
Keeping all the statistics and team form in mind, it looks like the home side will manage to get the better of Sevilla. Los Blancos would want to carry their form from the UCL forward and decrease the margin of points between the league leaders Barcelona and themselves.
However, the game will surely be an exciting and thrilling one as both teams would look to take all three points from this game, but Real could just go on to win this one in front of their fans at the Bernabeu.
