La Liga Preview: Real Madrid - Sevilla

Posted Saturday, December 18, 2010 by Goal.com

Los Blancos end the weekend’s action against the struggling Nervionenses...

Cats And Dogs? It’s Raining Goals

Real Madrid are likely to find themselves four points behind Barcelona by the time they kick-off against Sevilla at the Bernabeu, adding a little more pressure to a match that shouldn’t be viewed as entirely straightforward for los Blancos.

Jose Mourinho will certainly not want his side to treat los Nervionenses with any disdain, though in strong form the capital side have no reason to fear anyone. Since losing to Barcelona three weeks ago, Madrid have bounced back imperiously, defeating Valencia and Zaragoza with a margin to spare.

At times los Blancos were unsettled at La Romareda last weekend, but Mourinho’s men were always in control of the situation, particularly once Mesut Oezil slid them into the lead after 15 minutes. Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel di Maria simply nailed down the success, leaving Gabi’s responsive penalty as a mere irritant to the Portuguese boss.

“Whether you play with cats or dogs, it's the tactics that matter, not the players,” Mourinho rather bizarrely stated after last weekend’s match. “The dog is the usual system with two forwards and that has made us strong and aggressive. The cat is an alternate system with three central midfielders. I thought people were smarter and knew what I was talking about.”

While the coach continues to entertain and capture headlines from the dugout, his side are doing likewise on the field, scoring freely and largely wowing audiences.

This Is A Low

Sevilla went into this campaign bullishly speaking of competing with Spain’s ‘Big Two’, but los Nervionenses have fallen flat on their faces and face a big challenge to even reach the top four after a disastrous sequence of results.

Gregorio Manzano was supposed to be the man to take the Andalucians to greater heights, but instead they are plumbing new depths, having lost six of his 10 league matches in charge, the latest of which was a hugely embarrassing home reverse against local rivals Almeria last weekend.

“I am struggling to influence a group who are suffering from very low morale,” the former Mallorca coach starkly confessed last Saturday. “The reality is what it is.”

There was finally some better news for los Rojiblancos in midweek, when they earned a creditable 2-2 home draw against Borussia Dortmund to progress through to the knock-out stages of the Europa League.

“We needed this result to get out of our current slump,” Diego Perotti confessed to Diario de Sevilla. “This is the attitude that we must have in every match, and the image that we must convey. We must continue on this line of work, and maintain this intensity in every game.”

The once capped Argentine international was by no means defeatist with regards to the visit to the Bernabeu, stating: “Madrid will be a complicated match because they are playing at a high level, but we will try hard to achieve something positive.”

Sevilla have a talented squad competing with the best, but their recent form suggests this could turn into a damage limitation exercise.

La Liga Preview: Real Madrid - Sevilla

TEAM NEWS

Real Madrid

Sami Khedira is expected to be ready for this match after returning to training without a problem. Jerzy Dudek, Sergio Canales, Sergio Ramos, Gonzalo Higuain, Kaka and Fernando Gago are all out, however.

Marcelo and Xabi Alonso are both suspended.

Sevilla

Diego Perotti sustained a midweek hamstring injury that will require two or three weeks to heal. Frederic Kanoute also picked up a problem and is doubtful, while a late decision will be made over Jesus Navas.

Arouna Kone, Tiberio Guarente and Ivica Dragutinovic remain injury problems.

Alexis is banned, which is a significant blow.