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Aug 30, 2015 at 7.30pm UK
 
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Preview: Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid

:Headline: Preview: Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid: ID:242426: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews the La Liga clash between Sevilla and Atletico Madrid at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Two of last season's top five in La Liga will meet at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday when Sevilla host Atletico Madrid.

The 2013-14 champions started their season with a win last time out, while this weekend's hosts had to settle for a point.


Sevilla

Sevilla will be looking for their first win of the season this weekend, having shared a goalless draw with Malaga in the opening fixture.

Summer signing Steven N'Zonzi, who joined the club from Stoke City, made his league debut for his new side, but hampered their chances of claiming a win when he was sent off with 20 minutes remaining.

Unai Emery's men have been in mixed form in the build up to this season, securing a 1-0 win over Premier League side Watford in a pre-season match before losing to Brighton & Hove Albion. They also lost 5-4 to Barcelona in the European Super Cup.

Having won the Europa League last season, Sevilla are one of five Spanish clubs taking place in the Champions League this season. At this week's draw for the group stage, the club were placed with Juventus, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach in Group D.

Sevilla have been busy adding to their squad over the summer in a bid to break into the top four this season, having narrow missed out on fourth place last season. Gael Kakuta, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Ciro Immobile are among the players to move to the Andalucia side.

Los Rojiblancos were one of the strongest attacking sides in the division last season, with only Real Madrid and Barcelona scoring more goals than Sevilla in the 2014-15 campaign. Their defending let them down at times though, letting in 45 goals while keeping just 14 clean sheets.

Recent form: WLDWWD
Recent form (all competitions): WLDLLD


Atletico Madrid

Atletico avoided a potential banana skin in their opening match of the new league season, claiming a 1-0 win over Segunda Division playoff winners Las Palmas last weekend, with Antoine Griezmann scoring the only goal of the match.

Atletico may not have defended their league title last season, finishing third behind winners Barcelona and local rivals Real Madrid, but they have looked strong in pre-season. In seven friendlies, the side claimed six wins, conceding just once in a draw with Sagan Tosu.

Keeping clean sheets was important for this weekend's visitors last season. Only Barcelona had more than Atletico's 19 clean sheets, while they conceded just 29 goals.

Like their opponents, Diego Simeone's men learnt who they will face in the group stage of the Champions League this week, being drawn in Group C of the competition with Benfica, Galatasaray and Astana.

Although Simeone has seen a number of big name players leave the Vicente Calderon this summer, including Arda Turan and Mario Mandzukic, there have been plenty of new arrivals too, including Jackson Martinez of Porto and Chelsea defender Felipe Luis.

Atletico have a 15-day break after this fixture, with a number of their players joining up with their national squads. However, they face a difficult test in their next outing, as they host champions Barcelona.

Recent form: WDDLDW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWWW


Team News

Filipe Luis is expected to be fit to retain his place in the starting lineup, despite missing time with a minor hamstring problem in training this week. Jesus Gamez is likely to come in if the defender suffers a setback.

Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco is yet to make his competitive debut for Atletico, having not been included in the squad last weekend following his move from AS Monaco, but is available for this fixture.

The home side will be without N'Zonzi following his red card last time out, while Nicolas Pareja remains out with a long-term knee injury, which is likely to prevent him from playing before the end of 2015.

Fernando Llorente could make his debut for the side, having joined on a free earlier this week after coming to the end of his contract with Juventus earlier in the summer.

Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Beto, Tremoulinas, Rami, Krychowiak, Andujar, Iborra, Reyes, Banega, Vitolo, Immobile, Konoplyanka

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak, Godin, Luis, Juanfran, Gimenez, Tiago, Koke, Oliver, Gabi, Griezmann, Martinez


Head To Head

When the sides met in Sevilla back in March, the match ended in a goalless draw, which was the sixth stalemate in the last 11 meetings between the two sides.

Sevilla have not beaten Atletico since 2010, and regularly struggle to score goals against this weekend's opponents, finding the back of the net just eight times in the last 11 meetings between the two teams.

In 24 previous meetings between the two sides, Sevilla have secured just seven wins, while Atletico have won 10 times, leaving seven matches to finish level.


Sevilla 1-1 Atletico Madrid

These two sides have typically shared close matches in recent seasons. Atletico made the stronger start to the season last time out, but Sevilla will have the advantage of playing on home soil this time out, which should result in another tight contest.



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