Well, they don’t come much bigger than this.
On Wednesday 26th September these sides face what is arguably their sternest test of the new season domestically (although due to Sevilla’s patchy form perhaps not).
The two sides have a strong history of competitive action and come the end of the season, both will expect to be in the upper echelons of Spain’s top flight, as well they both should be too.
As Real prepare to enter the cauldron of Sevilla’s Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, what are the chances of each side? And can Sevilla upset the Los Blancos giants in front of their adoring Sevillistas once again?
Head to Head
Undoubtedly, coming into the game Real Madrid will have the football betting odds heavily in their favour but Sevilla will fancy their chances especially if Real’s last visit to Sevilla is anything to go by.
At the end of last season, Barcelona had wrapped up the La Liga title and Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid side made it quite clear they had one eye on the Champions League final as they headed to the Pizjuan.
Cristiano Ronaldo was out injured and key players such as Keylor Navas were rested in anticipation of the final.
Sevilla ran out 3-2 winners in a game that would have seen Real overtake their neighbours Atletico Madrid into second place.
Ultimately, it was the right call as Real Madrid went on to beat Liverpool in the final at Kiev’s NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium.
In fact, that 3-2 home win for Sevilla is just one in a line of recent strong performances against Real on home soil.
So much so in fact, you have to go back to the 2nd May 2015 for the last time Real came away from Pizjuan with all three points with Sevilla winning three of the last four encounters on home soil.
This season
At the time of writing, Real Madrid look in devastating form despite many predicting the 33-time La Liga winners would struggle this campaign after Zinedine Zidane stepped down and Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Juventus.
Quite the opposite has ensued and Real looked a side comfortable in itself now former Spain head coach Julen Lopetegui is at the helm.
The same cannot be said for Sevilla who suffered back to back league defeats to Real Betis and Getafe, both games they would have expected to win.
However, the season is long, and the home side will be buoyed by recent performances against their esteemed visitors.
As fixtures go, this is easily one of the standout fixtures of the season and is a game that will teach us much about the prowess of both as the campaign starts to build ahead of the run-up to Christmas.
It is all to play for in Sevilla and it promises to be a game you won’t want to miss.
