Atletico Madrid resume La Liga duties with a mouth-watering contest against a struggling Sevilla side at Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday night.
Diego Simeone’s side will be aiming to make it nine straight wins across all competitions, piling more misery on Sevilla, who have been nothing short of disappointing this season.
Atletico currently sit third in the La Liga rankings after collecting 32 points from 15 games thus far and will fancy their chances of going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid and Barcelona for the Spanish holy grail.
On the other hand, Sevilla are perched at 11th, racking up a measly 19 points from 15 games. They’re closer to the relegation zone than they are to the Champions League places.
Atletico will enter the game as overwhelming favourites, and fans who purchase Atletico Madrid tickets from Seatsnet.com will be hoping to see their side extend their impressive winning streak on home turf.
Match Preview
Atletico extended their remarkable run of form in the Copa del Rey on Thursday evening, advancing to the third round with a commanding 3-1 victory over Spanish minnows Cacereno.
That success adds to their recent string of dominant performances across competitions, solidifying their status as one of the most in-form teams in Europe.
The Red and Whites have been in terrific form in the final third and have also become stingy at the back in recent weeks.
A 5-0 demolition of Real Valladolid in La Liga and a 6-0 triumph over Sparta Prague in the Champions League are just two highlights of their ongoing eight-game winning streak.
Domestically, Atletico has triumphed in their last four league matches against Las Palmas, Mallorca, Alaves, and Valladolid, leaving them third in La Liga.
With a game in hand, they trail second-placed Madrid by just one point and leaders Barcelona by five. They’ll fancy themselves as title contenders, but they can’t afford to drop points in games like these if they want to gatecrash the established order.
Defensively, Atletico has been a fortress, conceding only eight goals in 15 matches – the best record in the division.
Their home form at the Wanda Metropolitano has been equally impressive, earning 17 points from seven matches and remaining unbeaten in La Liga this season.
On the flip side, Sevilla have struggled on the road, winning just once in their last seven away fixtures, emphasising the uphill task they face when visiting the capital on Sunday.
Sevilla enters this encounter on the back of a three-game unbeaten streak, having shown resilience and plenty of fighting spirit in recent fixtures.
Their form has seen them collect four points from their last two La Liga matches, drawing with Rayo Vallecano and defeating Osasuna. This was followed by a 3-1 victory over Olot in the Copa del Rey on Thursday night.
Despite these promising results, Sevilla’s season remains a mixed bag.
Their defensive record is commendable, conceding only 19 goals so far, a testament to their organisation at the back.
However, their attacking output has been massively underwhelming, managing just 14 goals, which is the joint-third worst in the league.
This imbalance has left them struggling to climb the table.
Currently sitting in 11th place with 19 points, they find themselves ten points adrift of the Champions League spots, which goes to show just how far the Spanish giants have fallen.
Last season’s 14th-place finish was their worst since being relegated in 2000, a far cry from their consistent top-four finishes between 2020 and 2022.
Their recent meetings with Atletico Madrid offer a mixed narrative.
Sevilla claimed a 1-0 win at Estadio Ramon in February but fell to a narrow defeat by the same scoreline at Wanda Metropolitano later that year.
Sevilla must find a way to build on their recent form and find that attacking spark they need to turn their fortunes around.
Key Stats
Atletico are poised to extend their La Liga winning streak to five games when they host Sevilla at the Metropolitano this Sunday.
Currently third in the table, Simeone’s side have collected 32 points from 15 matches. They have lost just one game thus far (W9, D5) – a narrow 1-0 defeat against Real Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
That impressive run leaves Atletico just five points behind league leaders with a game in hand.
The Colchoneros are riding high on an eight-match winning streak across all competitions, and they aim to keep the momentum alive to stay in contention with Barcelona and Madrid.
Historically, Atletico have a slight advantage over Sevilla, having secured 21 wins in their last 57 encounters compared to Sevilla’s 19 victories (D17). However, recent meetings in La Liga have been more balanced, with Atletico losing three of their last seven clashes against the Andalusian side.
That accounts for two more defeats than they had suffered in the 20 games before this run, which is an unusual dip given their dominance in previous encounters.
On home turf, Atletico have been imperious against Sevilla, remaining unbeaten in their last 15 league meetings since a 1-0 loss in September 2008.
Sevilla’s campaign has been disappointing, but they’ve shown flashes of resilience, and it looks like they can turn things around after winning two of their last three games.
They’ve also had plenty of good fortune when taking on Madrid-based teams, winning two of their last four games in the capital – twice as many victories as they had achieved in the 11 such games preceding this run.
Sevilla will need a disciplined performance to trouble Simeone’s high-flying squad, but breaking Atletico’s formidable home record might be a bridge too far for the inconsistent Andalusians.
Team News
Atletico will navigate Sunday’s clash without two key players due to injuries. Nahuel Molina is sidelined with a hamstring issue, while Thomas Lemar remains unavailable because of a muscular problem.
In attack, Alexander Sorloth struggled to make an impact in the Copa del Rey, so Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez will likely lead the line.
Defensively, Clement Lenglet is expected to return to the starting XI following a string of strong performances.
Marcos Llorente, Pablo Barrios, and Conor Gallagher, who impressed off the bench in Atletico’s recent win over Cacereno, are also set to return to the line-up.
Meanwhile, Sevilla have a significantly lesser injury headache but will be without Tanguy Nianzou and Chidera Ejuke for the trip to the Wanda Metropolitano.
Head coach Garcia Pimienta heavily rotated his squad for the midweek Copa del Rey fixture but is anticipated to field a stronger line-up on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid potential starting line-up:
(4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Marcos Llorente, Jose Maria Gimenez, Clement Lenglet, Javi Galan; Giuliano Simeone, Rodrigo De Paul, Pablo Barrios, Conor Gallagher; Antoine Griezmann, Julian Alvarez.
Sevilla potential starting line-up:
(4-3-3): Alvaro Fernandez; Jose Angel Carmona, Loic Bade, Kike Salas, Adria Pedrosa; Djibril Sow, Nemanja Gudelj, Albert Sambi Lokonga; Dodi Lukebakio, Isaac Romero, Peque Fernandez.
