After a dominating display against Rayo Vallecano, Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid are all set to host Sevilla.
Sevilla will hit the road to square up against Atletico Madrid on Matchday 4 of the new La Liga season. The visitors have had a nightmare start to the new season, and they will be hoping to get things back on track when they face Diego Simeone’s team. Meanwhile, the home team will look to carry on from where they left off in their last outing.
Atletico Madrid started the new season with a comfortable 3-1 win over Granada. They were the better team on the day and got the job done. On Matchday 2, they squared up against Real Betis and all they could manage was a point. Betis were the better team on the day, but Atletico still managed to get a point out of it.
After a disappointing draw, Simeone’s men squared up against Rayo Vallecano and managed to script a historic win. Vallecano had the majority of the ball but despite that, Atletico ended up winning 7-0. They were a force to reckon with throughout the ninety minutes, and all their goals were scored by different players.
After three matchdays, Sevilla are at the bottom of the points table. It has been a very disappointing start to the new season for the away team and scripting an upset against Atletico will surely help them in the long run. But, it won’t be easy.
They started the season with a 2-1 loss to Valencia, then lost to Alaves in a seven-goal thriller and post that, another 2-1 defeat this time to Girona. The visitors will be low on confidence and squaring up against one of the title contenders in such form could prove to be very difficult.
It is going to be an exciting clash between two teams who are completely different form at this point in time. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the two teams involved and tries to predict the tactics they could use.
Team News & Tactics
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone will be without the services of Memphis Depay, Reinildo, Jose Gimenez and Koke due to injuries. Meanwhile, the availability of Saul Niguez for this fixture is doubtful.
❝El Sevilla es un equipo duro y fuerte con un entrenador que tiene una mentalidad muy clara en su juego❞.
— Diego Pablo @Simeone 🎙 pic.twitter.com/bd3lpArDPD
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) September 2, 2023
Atletico Madrid are expected to go ahead with the 3-5-2 formation, where Jan Oblak will be in goal. The back three in front of him should be made up of Stefan Savic, Axel Witsel and Mario Hermoso. The trio will look to keep yet another clean sheet.
Nahuel Molina and Samuel Lino should be the wing-backs for this fixture. They will look to support the back three and also provide width to their attacks. In the centre of the park, Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo De Paul and Pablo Barrios will take charge.
The trio will look to dominate the ball and dictate the pace of the game. Finally, in attack, Alvaro Morata will take up the pace of Depay who is injured and he will have the support of French international Antoine Griezmann.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Oblak; Savic, Witsel, Hermoso; Molina, De Paul, Barrios, Llorente, Lino; Griezmann, Morata
Sevilla
The visitors will be without the services of Jesus Navas, Fernando, Marcos Acuna, Marcao, Tanguy Nianzou and Alfonso Pastor, who are all out injured.
🇲🇦 🦁 pic.twitter.com/ySzlSt95AU
— Sevilla Fútbol Club (@SevillaFC) September 2, 2023
Majority of their players who started in their last defeat are expected to continue despite the disappointing result. José Luis Mendilibar is expected to stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation, and Marko Dmitrovic should be the one in goal.
Federico Gattoni and Adrià Pedrosa will be the full-backs for the visitors. Meanwhile, in the heart of the defence, Loic Bade should pair up with Nemanja Gudelj. Sevilla have struggled defensively in the new season and this back four will look to register their first clean sheet.
Djibril Sow and Ivan Rakitic will form the double pivot in the centre of the park. The duo will look to dictate the pace of the game and not allow Atletico Madrid to dominate the ball.
Suso will start out wide on the right, while Oliver Torres could be seen in an attacking midfielder’s role. Lucas Ocampos is expected to take charge on the left flank. And, Youssef En-Nesyri will lead the line for Sevilla.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Dmitrovic; Gattoni, Bade, Gudelj, Pedrosa; Sow, Rakitic; Suso, Torres, Ocampos; En-Nesyri
Key Stats
- In the last 54 matches between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, the home team have won 19 times while the visitors have come out on top on 18 occasions.
- Atletico Madrid have won their last two matches against Sevilla after enduring a spell where they had only won one out of eight.
- Sevilla are winless against Atletico Madrid in their last 14 away fixtures. Their last away win in the league came in 2008.
- The home team have only lost two out of their last 25 league games.
- Diego Simeone’s men have the best attack in Europe alongside AS Monaco having already scored 10 goals in the new season.
Player to Watch
Alvaro Morata
Morata is off the a flying start in the new season. The former Juventus striker has been involved in all three of Atletico Madrid’s La Liga games but he has been on the pitch for 139 minutes only. Despite that, he already has three goals to his name.
With Memphis Depay out injured, Morata will start against Sevilla, and he will look to put up a show to ensure he can cement his spot in the starting XI. Given the form that the 30-year-old is in, he could end up being the difference between the two teams.
Prediction
Atletico Madrid 4-2 Sevilla
Atletico Madrid are heading into this fixture high on confidence following a 7-0 win over Vallecano. Diego Simone’s team are off to a great start in the new season with two wins and a draw. And, they will look to carry on in a similar fashion when they square up against Sevilla.
Meanwhile, the visitors have got off to the worst possible start in the season. They have lost all three matches so far and going up against one of the title contenders won’t be an easy task. As a result, The Hard Tackle predicts a 4-2 win for the home team.
