Overview
Sevilla is struggling to stay in the league as the season enters the final stage. A difficult campaign has caused them to drop to 17th place in the standings with only 31 points after 30 matches, only 2 points ahead of Elche (ranked 18th).
Los Nervionenses have lost all 3 of their last matches in La Liga against Barcelona, Valencia and Real Oviedo, while only won one of their last 8 matches in the league.
Last season, Sevilla also only ranked 17th and avoided relegation with a slim one-point gap. Now, they continue to face the risk of relegation for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
Coach Luis Garcia Plaza's team has the second worst home record in La Liga this season, winning only 16 points after 15 matches, including 7 defeats.
In the first leg, Sevilla lost 0-3 to Atletico Madrid, and also suffered a 1-2 defeat when the two teams met at Estadio Ramon last season.
Atletico has only lost to Sevilla once since December 2021, but it would be a mistake to assume that the red and white team does not value this match.
Diego Simeone's team just had an impressive 2-0 victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Atletico will rematch Barcelona next week with the goal of winning a ticket to the semi-finals, before entering the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad.
At the present time, La Liga is not Atletico's top priority as they are firmly in the top 4, 12 points ahead of Real Betis (ranked fifth). However, they have also lost their last 2 matches in the league against Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Sevilla needs a victory more than ever, but Atletico certainly does not want to enter the second leg of the Champions League with an unconvincing performance.
Personnel situation
Sevilla will continue to be without Marcao (knee injury), while Cesar Azpilicueta (muscle injury) needs to be further checked before making a final decision about his ability to play.
Lucien Agoume will return after missing the defeat against Real Oviedo due to suspension. However, Tanguy Nianzou and Jose Angel Carmona could not participate due to suspension.
Agoume is expected to immediately return to midfield, while Gabriel Suazo and Chidera Ejuke may be given the opportunity to start.
On Atletico Madrid's side, Koke and Nico Gonzalez are both suspended. Besides, Jose Gimenez, Johnny Cardoso, Pablo Barrios and David Hancko are having injury problems.
Diego Simeone is likely to rotate the squad to save energy for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Barcelona. Therefore, key players such as Giuliano Simeone, Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann and Marcos Llorente are likely not to start.
Alexander Sorloth - who just scored from the bench against Barcelona - is expected to play highest in attack, while Obed Vargas may be present in midfield.
Expected lineup:
Vlachodimos, Sanchez, Castrin, Salas, Suazo, Gudelj, Agoume, Ejuke, Sow, Vargas, Adams.
Atletico Madrid: Musso, Molina, Pubill, Lenglet, Ruggeri, Mendoza, Vargas, Almada, Baena, Lookman, Sorloth.
The match between Sevilla and Atletico Madrid takes place at 2:00 AM on April 12 (Vietnam time).
