REAL MADRID are up against steely side Sevilla next in their La Liga exploits.
Real sit just a point above Sevilla in the table in fourth place so their clash is finely-poised.
- Kick-off: 3.15pm GMT
- TV/ live stream: Premier Sports
- Sevilla: Bono, Navas, Kounde, Diego Carlos, Vidal, Jordan, Fernando, Rakitic, Ocampos, Munir, De Jong.
- Real Madrid: Courtois, Lucas, Varane, Nacho, Mendy, Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, Benzema.
Follow ALL of the latest updates below...
HT SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
A lively first half from both sides at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with Real Madrid holding the edge.
Real came close to opening the score twice with Vinicius Junior in the early minutes of the game but the Brazilian missed the mark.
Karim Benzema also came close to giving Los Blancos the lead but Bono just managed to save the Frenchman’s shot with his finger tips.
Sevilla didn’t manage to get a big chance on goal but are closing spaces for the visitors and are moving the ball dangerously with Jesus Navas and Aleix Vidal.
Hopefully we will see goals in the second half shortly
PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
THAT’S HALF-TIME IN SEVILLE!
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
45 Referee gives one minute of stoppage time, is it enough for a late goal before half-time?
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
44 YELLOW CARD
Toni Kroos picks up the first yellow card of the match after his foul on Lucas Ocampos.
Kroos fails to win the ball from Ocampos and brings him down with a push right before the Sevilla man could run away with the ball.
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
41 Munir El Haddadi delivers a corner kick in the middle of Real Madrid’s box but Thibaut Courtois gets to the ball first.
Sevilla won that corner kick after Karim Benzema carelessly kicked the ball back
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
40 Luuk de Jong chests the ball down inside Real Madrid’s box and fires a shot that misses wildly.
Both Real and Sevilla are getting livelier as we close in on half-time
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
37 CHANCE!
Real Madrid comes so close to an opening goal with Karim Benzema.
Lucas Vazquez’s beautiful run finds Vinicius Junior who thinks fast and lets the ball roll on to Benzema.
The star striker finds space and fires a powerful shot on Bono’s left angle but the Sevilla keeper saves it with his finger tips
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
34 Real Madrid are still dominating possession but are struggling to make much of it.
Sevilla are closing spaces, especially on the flanks which is where Los Blancos prefer to attack from.
Almost 10 minutes left for half-time and we still have no score in this stalemate
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SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
31 Sevilla win a free-kick from a good position following a foul by Rodrygo on Munir El Haddadi.
Real Madrid clear the set-piece but the ball reaches Jesus Navas on the right flank.
Navas’ cross, though, misses Luuk de Jong and Real’s defenders have no problem clearing it away
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
29 Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui appears to have figured out Real Madrid’s play.
The hosts’ defence is applying pressure on the flanks which is where Real prefer to attack from.
Lopetegui is greatly dependant on runs by Navas and Aleix Vidal when they move the ball forward
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
25 Real Madrid move forward with Vinicius Junior who finds Karim Benzema completely unmarked in the left flank.
Benzema has a lot of space but his pass to Rodrygo misses wildly and goes out for a goal kick
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
20 CHANCE!
Toni Kroos fires a beautiful shot but the ball just misses Bono’s goal.
Real are still pressing high and are attacking from the flanks as they look for a quick goal that will put them in control of the game.
Manager Zinedine Zidane needs a win as the stat below suggests:
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
15 Real Madrid get a foul in a good position at the left wing after Rodrygo was brought down.
Toni Kroos, who is playing with a tiny cut on his left cheek, takes the shot but Bono clears it
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
11 A beautiful cross from the right just misses Joan Jordan who came inches away from firing the ball at Thibaut Courtois.
The hosts created the chance after Vinicius Junior gave the ball away for a throw-in at a dangerous position.
First chance for Sevilla
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
7. Real Madrid are pressing high up on the pitch and that leads to mistakes in Sevilla’s defence.
Real’s start makes sense as manager Zinedine Zidane is facing immense pressure following a raft of bad results.
The visitors need a result and are showing some serious intent.
But can they keep it up?
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
4 Real Madrid are dominating possession in the opening minutes following Vinicius Junior’s chance.
Casemiro fired another shot outside of the box but missed wildly.
Bono is facing some problems as Real are pressing for a quick goal
SEVILLA 0-0 REAL MADRID
1 So close! Sevilla kicked things off but lost the ball in midfield to Real Madrid opposition.
Vinicius Junior picked the ball up in the right wing and fired a shot from a difficult angle.
The ball just missed Bono’s right post and went out for a goal kick.
Strong start for Real Madrid, who need a win today
PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
OFF WE GO!
HERE COME THE TEAMS!
Real Madrid and Sevilla are set for action at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Real are led out by Karim Benzema as the visitors will be missing their captain Sergio Ramos, who won’t be facing his former club due to injury.
Former Manchester City star Jesus Navas will captain Sevilla in this crucial encounter.
VIEW FROM SEVILLE
It’s a beautiful day in Seville but the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium is going to be empty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hopefully that image will change soon…
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REAL FORMATION
We can confirm that Real Madrid will play with a 4-3-3 formation as predicted below.
Thibaut Courtois in goal, Lucas Vazquez and Ferland Mendy at full-back, Nacho and Raphael Varane at centre-back.
Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro reunite in midfield after Real’s shock loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Karim Benzema leads the line with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo
SEVILLA HERO
Sevilla recently said goodbye to one of the biggest names to ever wear their shirt throughout the club’s history, and that was none other than Diego Maradona.
Maradona, one of the greatest legends in football history, died last week on Wednesday from a heart attack in Argentina at the age of 60.
The Argentina hero joined Sevilla in 1992 following a glittering seven-year stint at Napoli where he scored a total of 115 goals in 259 matches across all competitions.
Maradona couldn’t replicate the same form in Seville as he was nearing the twilight of his career and thus only managed five goals in 26 matches before leaving in 1993 for Newell’s Old Boys.
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TOP DANGER
Karim Benzema poses as Real Madrid’s biggest danger… And he likes to score against Sevilla.
Benzema is Real’s top scorer in La Liga so far this season with four goals in eight matches.
And the star striker has quite a record against Sevilla having amassed nine goals and 10 assists across all competitions against the Andalusians throughout his 11-year stint in Madrid.
The France international is closing in on legendary status at Real having scored a total of 255 goals in 525 matches for the Spanish giants.
And Benzema is now after a historic record as he is only 12 goals away from overtaking the legendary Alfredo di Stefano as the club’s all-time third top goalscorer.
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HAZARD-OUS SITUATION
Eden Hazard (remember him?) is set to miss another game for Real Madrid as his injury hell continues.
Hazard has struggled with injury and fitness issues since he moved to Real from Chelsea for £130million last year.
The star forward has been ruled out for the rest of the year after he ruptured his hamstring during Los Blancos’ shock 2-1 defeat to Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.
That is yet another blow for the Belgium international who has been plagued by set-backs ever since his arrival in Madrid where he has missed a whopping 35 games for Zinedine Zidane’s side.
Hazard has so far failed to fill in the major void left behind by Cristiano Ronaldo as he has amassed a mere total of three goals and seven assists in 28 matches across all competitions.
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SEVILLA STATS
Sevilla are fifth in the La Liga table with only one point separating them from today’s opponents Real Madrid in fourth place.
The Andalusians have won five out of their nine league matches this season and have lost three times.
Julen Lopetegui’s men will look for a major return to winning ways following Wednesday’s devastating defeat to Chelsea at home.
The Blues thrashed the Europa League winners with a 4-0 score thanks to a masterclass performance by Olivier Giroud, who scored all of the visitors’ goals.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
