La Liga: No Time to Waste for Sevilla and Atleti

Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid

There will be an odd atmosphere in the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday. It will be a hot as ever as Sevilla welcome Atletico Madrid but there will be more tension, and even a little fear on the terraces.

Because this year, at this very moment, Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid is not a La Liga top four battle. It’s not even a top six clash but it’s 15^th versus seventh and the hosts, led by Julen Lopetegui, are just one point above the drop zone after a sluggish start.

Now at a whopping 251.00 to win the 2022/23 La Liga title, Sevilla are trailing seven teams in the betting market, which is a better picture than the current reality of 15^th place in the table behind the likes of Rayo Vallecano, Girona, and Mallorca.

It’s not a good sight for a team which, alongside Atletico Madrid, have threatened to gatecrash the El Clasico party in recent years.

Things have been picking up a little for Sevilla who earned a 1-1 draw away to Villarreal just before the international break and that followed their solitary win away to Espanyol.

Meanwhile, Los Rojiblancos went down 2-1 in the Madrid Derby and Diego Simeone’s team has already drifted eight points off the pace.  

This looks like a must-win game for both sides, but I’d say it is most definitely a must not lose.         

Talking Points

Life without Ocampos is tough for Sevilla

A year ago, Sevilla were fourth in the table and that’s where they finished up. But their early La Liga 2022 results were little short of disastrous with just a point to show for their first four games and a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Manchester City in the Champions League.

The transfer of Lucas Ocampos to Ajax on loan looks like it may have been a mistake as the attacking midfielder has been such a key player for Los Sevillistas in recent years.

Captain Ivan Rakitic says, despite the poor start in Spain and in Europe, that the team is squarely behind Lopetegui but the club owners will be anxious in their wait for an improvement.   

The win over Espanyol was invaluable to Sevilla to at least keep the proud club out of the bottom three, but they relied on defender Jose Carmona for two of their goals.

Erik Lamela, who scored the other goal before being sent off, is available again.

But Rakitic and Lopetegui have other problems, not least the recent report that midfield ace Papu Gomez was more focussed on Argentina’s World Cup preparations than the plight of his domestic club.

At moments like these, the team needs to be united.  

Time for Felix to reassure Atleti fans    

Such is the intensity of the renewed El Clasico battle as the current La Liga 2022 betting odds are stark in their assessment of any other club’s chances.

Here at SBOTOP, we are pricing both Barcelona and Real Madrid at 1.95 to win the title, with Los Rojiblancos in third place at 31.00.

That must be hard to take for Atleti fans who saw their team lift the league title just 15 months ago, but they have made a stuttering start with off-field issues around Antoine Griezmann’s availability to sort out.

And there is still uncertainly around the progress of Joao Felix in his third season at the club. The big money transfer from Benfica seemed to weigh heavily on the young Portuguese star’s shoulders and he has struggled with injury.

However, he has also showed flashes of brilliance, notably in a pre-season victory over Manchester United, and he has made three assists in the league.

In the end, Atleti need more from Felix and now at 22 years of age, he has the chance to show what he can do. There is an undoubted talent in there which persuaded the normally thrifty Simeone to splash out €126-M on the attacking midfielder and the club needs him to perform more than ever.        

Alvaro Morata is top scoring with three goals, while Antoine Griezmann has scored two from his regular appearances from the bench. And if Felix starts firing, Simeone will have a potent attack.

There are concerns at the other end of the pitch as Jose Maria Gimenez is injured and Mario Hemoso is suspended after his red card in the Madrid derby.

History

With 21 wins to 18, Sevilla have marginally had the better of the head-to-head encounters, and there have been 20 draws in all encounters since 1993.

Neither side has been in sparkling form so far this season, but Atletico have been a little stronger with three wins, a draw, and two defeats, while Sevilla have two wins, a draw, and three defeats over the last six games.

Sevilla re unbeaten at home to Atleti in the last four meetings at the Ramon Sanchez, winning this game last year 2-1 as Ocampos scored a late winner for the hosts. But Los Rojiblancos have been strong on the road this season, winning two and drawing one away from Madrid. 

Betting Tip

La Liga is taking shape already and it doesn’t look pretty to Sevilla fans, and they would dearly love a win at a price of 2.71.

The home fans will be loud and passionate and an away victory at 2.51 would be a superb result for Los Rojiblancos. It all points to a draw for me and a score-line of 1-1 is relatively low in price at 4.84. 

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.