Confirmed as runners-up in Spain's top flight this season, Real Madrid will be bidding to give their supporters something to cheer when they head to Sevilla in their penultimate match of the campaign on Sunday night.
Real Madrid will enter the match off the back of a 2-1 success over Mallorca, which delayed Barcelona's title celebrations, but the Catalan outfit managed to secure the championship on Thursday night courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Espanyol.
Match preview
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Sevilla have not had too much to shout about this season, with a desperately disappointing campaign leaving them close to the relegation zone, but they managed to confirm their status in the top flight for 2025-26 courtesy of a 1-0 success over Las Palmas on Tuesday night.
The victory proved to be Sevilla's first in Spain's top flight since March 9, and it ensured that the team would not have any relegation fears heading into the final two gameweeks, with 41 points from 36 matches leaving them seven points ahead of the bottom three.
Los Nervionenses were 14th in La Liga last term, which represented their worst finish since being relegated back in 2000, and there is a chance that could worsen this term, with the team potentially finishing as low as 17th.
Joaquin Caparros's side have won six, drawn six and lost six of their 18 home league fixtures this season, and they will be welcoming a Real Madrid outfit that have only won half of their 18 away league games during the 2024-25 campaign.
Los Nervionenses suffered a 4-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the reverse match at Bernabeu earlier this season, and they have not actually managed to overcome Los Blancos since September 2018, but it was 1-1 when the pair met at Estadio Ramon last term.
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Real Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup back in August, but they have fallen short in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, with head coach Carlo Ancelotti set to step away after a disappointing final season at the helm.
Ancelotti is leaving to take charge of Brazil, with Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso widely expected to be announced as his replacement, and it will be fascinating to see how Los Blancos set up next term under their former midfielder.
Real Madrid managed to come from behind to beat Mallorca 2-1 on Wednesday night, with Jacobo Ramon winning it in the final exchanges, but in the end, the result mattered little, as Barcelona claimed the title 24 hours later.
Los Blancos will finish their campaign at home to Real Sociedad next weekend before turning their attention to the revamped Club World Cup, with their journey in the competition beginning against Al-Hilal on June 18.
It is set to be a fascinating transfer window for the club, with deals for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen believed to be imminent, and the pair could potentially both be involved in the Club World Cup.
Injuries have seriously harmed Real Madrid at the business end of the campaign, but the show must go on, and the capital giants will already be looking ahead to the 2025-26 season under a new head coach.
Team News
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Sevilla will welcome Isaac Romero back into their squad this weekend, but Kike Salas, Tanguy Nianzou, Ruben Vargas and Akor Adams remain injury doubts for the home side.
Nemanja Gudelj is likely to be the player to benefit if Salas does not recover in time, but Romero may have to accept a spot on the bench, as Alvaro Garcia hit the winner against Las Palmas last time out.
Dodi Lukebakio has been a standout performer for Sevilla this season, scoring 11 times in Spain's top flight, and Los Nervionenses will do well to keep him this summer considering the level of his displays.
As for Real Madrid, Aurelien Tchouameni will make a timely return from suspension, but Brahim Diaz, Andriy Lunin, Lucas Vazquez, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo all remain doubts for the capital giants.
Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal are definitely out, meanwhile, so it will be a patched-up Los Blancos outfit that takes to the field this weekend.
Kylian Mbappe is now on 40 goals in his debut Real Madrid season - a remarkable achievement - and the France international will again be bidding to inspire his side to all three points at Estadio Ramon.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Juanlu, Bade, Gudelj, Carmona; Agoume, Sow; Suso, Lokonga, Lukebakio; A Garcia
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Valverde, Tchouameni, Asencio, F Garcia; Guler, Ceballos, Modric, Bellingham; Mbappe, Endrick
We say: Sevilla 1-2 Real Madrid
Sevilla will certainly be boosted by the fact that Real Madrid will be missing so many important players, but Ancelotti can still select a team full of quality, even considering the absences, and we are backing Los Blancos to put another three points on the board, with Mbappe's quality again potentially making the difference.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
