Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid

Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are set to face each other in a blockbuster La Liga clash at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Sevilla cannot catch a break this season after parting with a household center-half duo, Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde, as manager Julen Lopetegui faces imminent danger of losing his job. Winless in five of their opening six La Liga matches (D2, L3), ‘Los Rojiblancos’ are having their worst six-game top-flight start in 20 years. Bringing a pair of winless Champions League games into the equation (D1, L1), it takes no rocket science to understand Lopetegui’s walking a tightrope. Though it sounds bizarre, Atletico’s visit to Pizjuan could throw Lopetegui a lifeline, as his men haven’t lost any of their last four home league H2Hs (W2, D2) en route to setting an unprecedented feat in this fixture’s history. But the hosts have not just been winless in all three home league contests this term (D2, L1) but have yet to take the lead in Andalusia.

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid fell to a 2-1 home defeat to cross-town rivals Real Madrid on the stroke of the international break, maintaining their indifferent La Liga start (W3, D1, L2). Playing outside the Metropolitano Stadium is not a bad omen for Diego Simeone’s side, considering they’ve won twice on their three La Liga travels this term (D1), conceding just once in that sequence. However, their recent fortunes in Andalusia are a reason for concern as ‘Los Colchoneros’ have lost two of their last three La Liga visits to this region (W1), as many defeats as in their previous 16 away games against such opposition in the competition (W9, D5, L2).