Sevilla
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2 - 1
This match has ended. Upcoming related matches:
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Real Madrid
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| United States | Gol TV USA |
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| Country | Date/Time (US/Eastern) | Channel |
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| United States | Sun, Oct 04 19:00pm | Gol TV USA |
| Mon, Oct 05 20:30pm | Gol TV USA | |
| Mon, Oct 05 23:30pm | Gol TV USA | |
| Wed, Oct 07 10:30am | Gol TV USA | |
| Wed, Oct 07 20:00pm | Gol TV USA | |
| Fri, Oct 09 16:00pm | Gol TV USA | |
| Sat, Oct 10 20:00pm | Gol TV USA | |
| Canada | Sun, Oct 04 21:00pm | GolTV Canada |
| Mon, Oct 05 9:00am | GolTV Canada | |
| Tue, Oct 06 13:00pm | GolTV Canada | |
| Wed, Oct 07 16:00pm | GolTV Canada | |
| Thu, Oct 08 9:30am | GolTV Canada | |
| Thu, Oct 08 16:00pm | GolTV Canada | |
| Thu, Oct 08 22:00pm | GolTV Canada | |
| Fri, Oct 09 14:30pm | GolTV Canada | |
| Fri, Oct 09 20:30pm | GolTV Canada | |
| *Don't see your country or favourite channel listed? Let us know and we will include it. | ||
It is arguably a two-horse race but like Valencia’s club president Manuel Llorente stated last week, importance should be given to all the teams that participate in the league. In other words, the trophy could be resting neither at the Camp Nou nor at the Santiago Bernabeu when the Primera Division terminates.
Over the past season, Barcelona built a team around unity, determination, and the principle of playing beautiful football. Presently, the Blaugrana look strong in depth and unstoppable.
Meanwhile, their fiercest rivals Real Madrid are just recovering from a miserable year without silverware. The introduction of mega stars, the appointment of a new president and a new coach could be the solution for Real Madrid to renovate their broken fortress.
In the meantime, despite recording an average of three goals per match, Los Blancos remain in a progression phase where they need to gel before becoming unbreakable, mentally as well as tactically.
This weekend, Real Madrid travel to Andalusia for the first time in three months to play Sevilla. The last time that Real Madrid played at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, they lost 2-1 to Juventus and eventually missed out on the Peace Cup final. This was in July during the pre-season.
Could there be a repeat of such a thing on Sunday? In any case, it will be a huge setback for Real Madrid and a huge boost for both Sevilla and Barcelona.
Manuel Pellegrini’s rotation policy is permitting everybody in the Real Madrid squad to play his part in this season’s campaign. Regardless of the size of one player’s name, being benched for a match is always a possibility.
Cristiano Ronaldo came on as a second half substitute against Espanyol, but came off the field against Xerez and Tenerife. Benzema has enjoyed nothing more than three starts for Los Blancos whereas skipper Raul was on the bench for almost two thirds of the game against Villarreal.
Every week, Manuel Pellegrini provides a different starting lineup as he considers points such as the players’ health, impartiality among the squad, and the difficulty/value factor of each match.
The rotation policy has been welcomed by everyone in the squad but it is also a fact that some players find it difficult to contain themselves from frustration.
"I understand the rotations although it is obvious that I always want to play,” Kaka was quoted as last week.
Well, Real Madrid won their last match in La Liga by three goals to nil to reclaim the top spot. The Spanish giants were not impressive in the first half of the game but the introduction of Kaka in the second half contributed a lot to a positive change.
Fans will be expecting more of their squad when they travel to Sevilla. The pitch at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan makes it difficult for opponents to play a flawless game, so Manuel Pellegrini will need to get his tactics right if he is to get away with the three points.
"Eventually, we will lose. We will see how the side responds against some of our stronger rivals," Pellegrini told the media after Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory against Tenerife last Saturday.
The Chilean boss always seems to contain himself from over excitement after Real Madrid record victories and he expect his players to keep improving.
Knowing the strength of La Liga’s top clubs like Barcelona, Valencia, or even Villarreal, Manuel Pellegrini is pessimistic on his team’s chances of playing the 38 league games without defeat.
Sevilla could be the team to hand them such a fate on Sunday; they look strong and flowing since their loss to Valencia on the opening day of their campaign.
The 2007 Sp
anish Super Cup winners know all about defeating Real Madrid and they would be keen to beat Los Blancos again.
Sevilla currently seat three points behind Real Madrid and in third place. They will therefore close the gap to zero points if they manage to break Real Madrid’s 100% record in La Liga this season.
The interesting thing will be around the performance of some specific players. Those include the likes of Alvaro Negredo who moved from Real Madrid to Sevilla during the summer. Mali’s Kanoute and Brazil’s Luis Fabiano are also poised to cause trouble to Madrid’s defense.
For Real Madrid, the attention will shift once again on Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger failed to score against Tenerife and is now one goal behind Barcelona’s number 9 Ibrahimovic in the top scorers chart.
The former Manchester United prolific goal scorer looks determined to make the most of his playing time as he eyes collective and individual success in his first year at the Bernabeu.
Meanwhile, Raul Gonzalez could equal Manuel Sanchis’ record for Real Madrid. Sanchis was the captain of Real Madrid between the years of 1983 and 2001. He played 710 official games for Los Blancos, that’s two more than Real Madrid’s current skipper Raul, as at now.