Atlético de Madrid – Sevilla (Copa del Rey)
Two teams with more than a rivalry in the last months face in the Wanda Metropolitano in the first leg of their elimination round of the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. Atlético de Madrid occupies the second position in the Santander League, adding 41 of the 57 points that have been played (12 wins, 6 draws and one defeat, in the last game of 2017, played at the RCDE Stadium) after their victory last weekend in Ipurúa.
The rojiblanco saw its good running broken with the trip to the Pericos (1-0). Previously, those of Simeone added a tie against Villarreal, a victory in La Coruña (0-1) and another scoreless draw in the Derby of Madrid; a landslide in the Ciutat de Valencia (0-5), the comeback against Real Sociedad (2-1), the victory in Seville (0-1 against Real Betis) and the suffered victory against Deportivo Alavés (1-0) ). Last weekend, won by 2-0 at Getafe, in the reunion of Diego Costa with his fans, with the goal … and with the expulsions.
Marked by the premiere of his new house, the set colchonero played his first three games of La Liga as a visitor, achieving two draws (in Girona 2-2 and Valencia 0-0) and a win in Las Palmas (1- 5). Its premiere in the Wanda Metropolitano (victory by the minimum against Málaga 1-0) was the start of a three-game winning streak (1-2 at San Mamés and 2-0 against Sevilla) before giving up a new draw in his visit to CD Leganés in Butarque (0-0) before the stoppage of selections.
Diego Costa returns to the team after missing the match in Eibar by penalty.
Eleven Probable: Oblak – Juanfran, Savic, Godín, Lucas – Thomas, Saúl, Carrasco, Vitolo – Griezmann, Diego Costa.
Sevilla started the new stage with Vincenzo Montella with a victory in Cádiz in the first leg of this tie. However, the following weekend, the Sevilla players suffered one of the worst defeats in their history, losing at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to Real Betis by 3-5. It was the first time in the history of the Seville derby that the Verdiblancos scored 5 goals in the feud of their great enemy. Despite winning the Cadiz in the second leg, the defeat in Vitoria last Sunday leaves the team very touched for this game.
In the Santander League and after this stumble in the debut of the former AC Milan coach in the bench of Nervión, Sevilla occupies the 6th position in the table, adding 29 points in 19 days, with 9 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses in the 19 games played.
In the Champions League, the team managed to track their pass after going through its worst moment of the season, adding three consecutive losses just before winning Spartak Moscow in what was a key game. Since that victory in Nervión and after the announcement of Berizzo’s illness, the Spaniards have gone from less to more, sealing their ticket to the European qualifying ties after drawing 1 against Slovenian Maribor. Manchester United will be their rival in the round of 16.
Eleven Probable: Sergio Rico – Mercado, Kjaer, Lenglet, Escudero – Vázquez, Pizarro, Banega – Nolito, Correa, Ben Yedder.
In the last 5 duels, Atleti has won 3 times, with a 1-0 victory for Sevilla in Pizjuán and a scoreless draw. The prediction is that the colchoneros take the match, as they did in the league match this season, without conceding a goal.
Prediction Today:Atlético de Madrid
Odds:2.10
