Overview
Real Madrid had a challenging match against the third-tier club Talavera in the Spanish King's Cup. Despite letting the home team score 2 goals in the final minutes, Los Blancos still managed to preserve the advantage to win 3-2, thereby winning a ticket to the round of 16.
Xabi Alonso's team also just defeated Alaves with a score of 2-1 in La Liga last weekend. Two consecutive victories have helped the atmosphere at the Bernabeu become more positive before the winter break, but the pressure is still present as Real Madrid prepare to face Sevilla.
Currently, Real Madrid is second in the La Liga rankings, 4 points behind leaders Barcelona. Notably, they have won 6 of their 7 home matches in the tournament this season, and any result other than the victory will be considered an exaggeration.
In that context, Barcelona will face a difficult challenge when visiting Villarreal. This opens up the possibility that the championship race situation could change in the next round if Real Madrid take advantage of the opportunity.
History is also on the Bernabeu team's side. Since December 2008, Sevilla have not won away from home against Real Madrid in domestic competitions. Los Blancos are currently on a 13-match unbeaten streak against this opponent.
Sevilla have lost 11 of their last 13 meetings with Real Madrid, including a 4-2 defeat at the Bernabeu in December 2024 and a 2-0 home defeat to Ramon Sanchez pizjuan in May 2025.
However, Los Nervionenses entered this match with a significantly improved spirit after a resounding 4-0 victory over Real Oviedo in La Liga last weekend. This result helped Matias Almeyda and his team rise to ninth place in the rankings, only 5 points behind the group participating in the European Cup.
Sevilla also showed that they are not an easy opponent to bully away from home, with a record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses after 8 away matches in La Liga this season. However, in midweek, they came to an early stop in the Copa del Rey when they lost 0-1 to Alaves.
Having lost just one of their last four games in all competitions, Sevilla will be looking to create a surprise, especially in the context of Real Madrid still lacking some important pillars.
Personnel situation
Real Madrid will continue to face a personnel crisis when hosting Sevilla in La Liga.
The Bernabeu team will definitely not have the services of Dani Carvajal (knee injury), Trent Alexander-Arnold ( thigh injury), Eder Militao (hamstring), Brahim Diaz ( Participating in AFCON), Alvaro Carreras (hanging) and Endrick (hanging).
In addition, Raul Asencio (sick), Eduardo Camavinga (ankle injury), David Alaba (muscle injury), Antonio Rudiger (overload), Federico Valverde (overload) and Ferland Mendy (muscle injury) are all subject to further assessment.
On the other hand, Sevilla could not help but suffer losses in terms of force. Akor Adams and Chidera Ejuke are absent due to attending the AFCON, while Ruben Vargas, Adnan Januzaj, Tanguy Nianzou and Gabriel Suazo are all unable to attend due to injury.
In addition, the possibility of Kike Salas (throat), Marcao (knee), Cesar Azpilicueta (heart) and goalkeeper Orjan Nyland (mechanical injury) playing is still uncertain, causing the away team to enter the winter break with many concerns about their fitness.
Expected lineup:
Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde, Asencio, Huijsen, F. Garcia, Guler, Tchouameni, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius.
Sevilla: Vlachodimos, Carmona, Cardoso, Gudelj, Castrin, Oso, agoume, sow, Mendy, Romero, A. Sanchez.
The match between Real Madrid and Sevilla takes place at 3:00 am on December 21 (Vietnam time).
