Sevilla vs Real Madrid Copa Del Rey Second Leg Preview
Real Madrid will be traveling to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium for the second leg of the Copa Del Rey last 16 tie against Sevilla. Los Blancos won the first leg by three goals to nil courtesy of a James Rodriguez double and Raphael Varane’s header. Sevilla has a mountain to climb in the second leg.
But there is hope for Sevilla in this second leg as they are playing at home. The Ramón Sánchez has not been a happy hunting ground for Real Madrid. The European champions have lost three of their last four matches against Sevilla when playing away. This is where a big first leg win for Los Blancos may come to their rescue.
With a three goal advantage from the first leg, Real Madrid can go through even if they lose 4-1 to Sevilla. Sevilla are also riding high after a four nil win against Real Sociedad in La Liga and will be expecting to start strong and at least make Madrid’s job a little tougher. One of the best aspects of Zindane’s team is that they were able to defeat a daunting side like Sevilla without their best players on the pitch.
The team which defeated Sevilla didn’t have Ronaldo, Benzema and goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Expect Real Madrid to field the same side again. Ronaldo may not feature for Madrid as he will probably be saved for the La Liga fixture against Sevilla on the 15th.
It will be interesting to see what Jorge Sampaoli will do in this match. Will he field his best players in a fixture where chances of success might be low for Sevilla? Or will he bench the vital players for the La Liga fixture on Sunday and try to etch closer to Real Madrid in the league.
James Rodriguez can have the center stage again if he can replicate what he did in the first leg. This way not only can be find his place back in the first eleven but also settle the uncertainty regarding his transfer rumors.
Real Madrid have a massive advantage going into this match. But, Sevilla at home can be a different beast and the Los Blancos can’t afford to let complacency set in. The tie may be done and dusted but it will for sure a good game of football.