Real Madrid: 3 players to watch on Sevilla for Matchweek 20

Real Madrid will face Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday in a rematch from their September encounter when Los Blancos took home all three points after a gritty evening of football at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Following their Spanish Supercup triumphs over Valencia and Atletico Madrid, which showcased two different sides of how Real Madrid can play football this season, Los Blancos are riding high. But they will have to face a tough opponent in former manager Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla on Saturday.

Zinedine Zidane’s side already showed they have what it takes to beat Sevilla, as they defeated their Matchweek 20 opponents 1-0 in September, courtesy of a crucial Karim Benzema away goal. Benzema is currently dealing with a hamstring injury, Sergio Ramos picked up an ankle injury, and Fede Valverde is suspended. And Eden Hazard remains out with an ankle injury of his own.

So Real will need all hands on deck on Saturday against Sevilla, who are fourth in the table and looking dangerous.

Here are three players Zidane must pay special attention to on Sevilla for this week’s game.

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RW Lucas Ocampos

There hasn’t been a more impactful player in the Sevilla lineup this season than Lucas Ocampos, who gave Ferland Mendy all he could handle in their previous meeting.

Ocampos was by far the most dangerous player on the pitch for Sevilla, and while Mendy, as one of the best defensive left backs in the world, was up to the task, it won’t get any easier this weekend.

Ocampos, per WhoScored.com, leads Sevilla with five goals. He also tops the team with 2.5 dribbles per game and 1.7 fouls drawn per game. The man has the ability to create chances from nothing and is a constant thorn in the side of his opponents. His dribbling ability is bordering world class.

Look for him to give Real problems, especially when he combines with veteran right back Jesus Navas, who has three assists this season.

CM Ever Banega

Although Ever Banega had an eerily quiet outing when Real Madrid last faced Sevilla, the Europa League giants’ main creative influence still made his presence felt with three key passes; he was the only player on the team with multiple key passes.

Real held Banega in check in September, and holding him in check on Saturday will once again be a key to victory for Zidane. Without Fede Valverde, Casemiro and Toni Kroos will have to be at peak condition defensively. The battle between Kroos and Banega could get interesting.

This season, Banega is Sevilla’s leading assist provider with six, which is double Navas’ output in second place on the team. He completes more than 85% of his passes, too, despite being the only player on Sevilla with more than two key passes per game.

If Real can keep Banega in check, they can starve the opposition of their best chances.

ST Munir El Haddadi

Although the former Barcelona prospect has played in only about half the minutes as regular starter Luuk de Jong, he should clearly overtake the Dutch forward as the starter in Julen Lopetegui’s lineup. Other than aerial duels, de Jong provides nothing of value to Sevilla’s attack and is one of the worst strikers in the league, particularly from a goal-scoring standpoint. And Sevilla need goals: only Lucas Ocampos has carried a true threat in that regard.

Whether Munir El Haddadi starts or not, he’s someone to pay attention to. Munir only has two goals this season, but he’s gotten himself into dangerous positions on a consistent basis and could breakout in the second half of the season. Furthermore, those two goals have come in just 578 minutes of play. And in the Europa League, Munir has an astounding five goals in under 400 minutes of play.

Munir is a man to watch. He could be a real X-Factor for Sevilla at the Bernabeu this weekend, and if he seizes this opportunity to shine on the big stage, there could be no looking back. Real Madrid must prepare for him, since he’s considerably more talented than the meandering de Jong, who was beyond abysmal in their September encounter.