Atletico Madrid and Seville have competed for the Spanish Football League championship against the titans Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent seasons, but their performances this year have fallen short of expectations prior to their anticipated summit on Saturday in the seventh stage.
In 2014 and 2021, Atlético finally won La Liga, and Sevilla, which had been in the top four the previous three seasons, also competed.
The team led by Argentine coach Diego Simeone will travel to the “Ramon-Sanches Pizjuan” stadium on Saturday with the goal of picking up three points following a lacklustre start that saw them in tenth place with 10 points, while the team led by coach Julen Lopetegui struggles to gain more points in order to move out of the positions pointing to the second division. It holds down the fifteenth spot with just 5 points after Yateem’s win, two draws, and three losses.
The Andalusian club was caught in the trap of a 1-1 draw with Villarreal in the sixth stage before the competitions were suspended in preparation for the international window, and Lopetegui is under pressure because he is well aware that any further mistakes against the Rojiblancos could result in his termination.
The issues in Seville’s squad are made worse by the fact that, in addition to some players’ declining performance levels, Lopetegui must contend with the fitness of two newcomers—playmaker Isco and combative midfielder Juan Jordan—while the Mexican winger Tecateto Corona and the Brazilian defender Marcao are most likely to miss the upcoming match.
In an interview with Mochodiporte, Isco described Sevilla’s predicament, stating, “There were numerous changes (this summer), and several players arrived late without any preseason preparation. The performance was greatly impacted by these factors.
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I appreciate (Lopetegui) as a coach who has consistently had faith in me. He is a coach I personally respect, and he has the support of the players. We stick together not just during victories but also during losses, and that is when you can tell we are a true team.
Atletico, meantime, is having a tough time as it prepares for its next match after losing at home to Real, its archrival and rival in the capital’s “derby,” 1-2, just before the break.
In response to a violent campaign against Real Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, who was the subject of racist chants from Atlético supporters, Atletico was forced to put in a lot of effort both inside and outside the green rectangle.
In addition, Atletico wants to avoid suffering its third straight defeat in a variety of tournaments after losing 0-2 to Bayer Leverkusen in the second round of the Champions League group stage.
The two teams come into the game only focused on winning. If Atletico loses, it will fall 11 points behind its neighbour Real, who is currently leading (18 points), and they know that the Royal Club will play Osasuna on Sunday in what appears to be an easy match for the European and Spanish champions. If Seville loses, it will move closer to the goal-line.
“We will continue to work and look forward to the Seville encounter, and we know that we have to improve and we will do so,” Simeone stated following the “Derby” defeat.
Some are wondering if this season is a rerun of their dominance in Spanish football when they crossed the 100-point threshold in “La Liga,” with the two giants Real and Barcelona reaching their best level and occupying the first and second places, respectively (18 vs. 16), and the first and second places, respectively.
Real is renewing the efforts of its French striker Karim Benzema, who has returned to training and is anticipated to play against Osasuna. With a flawless start that was crowned with a full mark in the league after 6 stages and 9 victories from 9 matches in various competitions this season, Real is restoring the efforts of Benzema.
While Robert Lewandowski, a Polish striker who recently joined Barcelona, leads the league in goals scored with 8, Benzema earned the league’s top scorer accolade last season despite having only scored three goals so far this campaign.
In Marca’s celebration honouring the top players, the striker for the “Duke” national team pledged, “I will endeavour to accomplish more,” adding, “This involves winning the league, scoring a lot of goals, and most importantly, having fun on the pitch.
For its part, Barcelona will travel to Real Mallorca on Saturday with a fortified defence, since it has only let up one league goal, a score from Swedish striker Alexander Isak, a former Real Sociedad and current Newcastle player, in a 4-1 triumph in the second stage.
The Catalan club will play the leaders on Sunday in the hopes of returning with three points to put even more pressure on its arch-rival, Real, while watching for any slip-ups or outstanding play from Osasuna.
Sevilla and “stumbling” Atlético play each other at the start of the round.
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