Real Madrid vs Sevilla: The Copa Del Rey is certainly heating up and we are very well poised to witness a dramatic comeback attempt for Sevilla when they take on Real Madrid at home in the Round of 16 second leg on Thursday. La Liga toppers Los Blancos already have quite a significant edge over theirSpanish rivals after the 3-0 draw at home and will be looking to thwart any attempts of come back for Sevilla as they take the field at theRamn Snchez Pizjun.With a three-goal advantage from the first leg, Real Madrid can go through even if they lose 4-1 to Sevilla. Sevilla are also riding high after a four nil win against Real Sociedad in the La Liga and will be expecting to start strong and at least make Madrid’s job just a little bit more difficult.
One of the major talking points of the said clashisthe fact that Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has opted to keep Cristiano Ronaldo out of the squad which would be featuring against Sevilla, thus opening up to admittance that qualification spot for the quarterfinals is more or less earned. However, the Frenchman still laid stress on winning the game stating that their opponents would do anything to turn the tables in their favour.
Real Madrid vs Sevilla: Team News
Real Madrid
Zinedine Zidane will look to move things around a bit considering the healthy advantage Los Blancos have over Sevilla in the fixture. The Frenchman has opted to rest Ronaldo and Luka Modric for the upcoming game in order to provide them with much-needed rest ahead of the final stretch of the season.James, Isco, Pepe and Gareth Bale are also unavailable for the Copa del Rey encounter due to different injury concerns. The Colombia international who has a calf problem and Isco did not train with the rest of their teammates on Tuesday, while Pepe and Bale continue to recover from their long-term injuries suffered last year.The France boss thus promoted his son Enzo from the second team to cope with the number of absences in the middle of the park, while also welcoming back both captain Ramos and Vazquez to the squad after the Spanish duo missed the opening games of 2017, having picked up injuries in the December’s Club World Cup. Defensive midfielder Casemiro who recently came back from injury is also slated to start the game alongside Toni Kroos.
Sevilla
Sevilla have no fresh injury concerns from the weekend and will more than likely start with that same line-up employed byJorge Sampaoli in their last fixture. The Sevilla coach will bank heavily on the likes of Nasri and Yedder up-front to cause significant problems for the Madrid defense line.
Real Madrid vs Sevilla: Predicted Starting Line-up
Real Madrid (4-3-3)
Navas; Varane, Ramos, Carvajal, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Kovacic; Benzema, Morata, Vasquez
Sevilla (3-5-1)
Rico; Mercado, Rami, Pareja; Escudero, Vazquez, N’Zonzi, Vitolo, Mariano; Nasri, Ben Yedder
Real Madrid vs Sevilla: Match Details
Date: January 12, 2017
Time:21:15H
Venue:Ramn Snchez Pizjun, Sevilla, Spain
Real Madrid vs Sevilla:TV Guide
The Copa del Ray clash between Real Madrid and Sevilla will be telecasted onbeIN SPORTS en Espaol, fuboTV, beIN SPORTS CONNECT U.S.A., beIN SPORTS USAin the United States. There will be no live telecast of the match in India or the United Kingdom.
Real Madrid vs Sevilla: Match Predictions
There is almost no doubt that Los Blancos are sitting quite comfortably on the brink of qualification to the next round of the Cup tie and hence Zidane’s experiments with his side’s youngsters. Although Sevilla do have quite a reputation for fighting back, it is highly inlikely that they would overturn a 3-0 first leg defeat with the likes of Ramos and Varane in the side. Our prediction for Madrid’s second leg fixture in Sevilla stands at a 1-1 draw with The European Champions comfortably cruising through on aggregate.
