Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla

Metropolitano Stadium forms the backdrop for a heavyweight La Liga contest between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.

Despite falling a man behind midway through the second half of last weekend’s El Derbi Madrileno, Atletico Madrid held eternal rivals Real Madrid to a dramatic 1-1 away draw, extending their unbeaten La Liga run to seven matches (W4, D3). But there’s no room for celebrations, with fifth-placed Real Betis only two points below. Worryingly for Diego Simeone, his men have won just five of their 11 home league outings this season (D3, L3), their lowest tally at this point of a top-flight season since 2009/10. That said, ‘Los Colchoneros’ are unbeaten in their last 13 top-flight meetings with Sevilla on home turf (W6, D7), though it’s worth noting that three of their four most recent top-flight H2Hs in Madrid have ended level (W1).

There’s no doubt visiting Sevilla wouldn’t mind another share of the spoils, considering they’ve failed to win any of their last six league matches away from home (D3, L3). That hardly bodes well as ‘Los Rojiblancos’ hope to defy their ‘Madrid hoodoo’ that’s seen them go winless on their last five top-flight visits to the capital (D3, L2). It gets worse, with Sevilla keeping only four clean sheets in 23 La Liga games this season, their second-lowest tally at this stage of a top-flight campaign in the 21st century. Speaking of low standards, only rock-bottom Elche (1) and 19th-placed Getafe (5) have won fewer league outings than Sevilla this term, accounting for the Andalusians’ worst haul of victories after the first 23 top-flight fixtures in the new millennium.