Playing for 90
Fansided

Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Projected Lineups

By Thuya Kyaw

SEVILLE, SPAIN - AUGUST 30: General view of Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan after its refurbishment and before the La Liga match between Sevilla FC and Club Atletico de Madrid on August 30, 2015 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
SEVILLE, SPAIN - AUGUST 30: General view of Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan after its refurbishment and before the La Liga match between Sevilla FC and Club Atletico de Madrid on August 30, 2015 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Two fiery Argentinean managers face off as Sevilla host Atletico Madrid

Arguably the best matchup in La Liga for this weekend will kick off on Sunday as Sevilla side led by Jorge Sampaoli take on league leaders Atletico Madrid.

It’s been so far so good for Sampaoli, who took over in late June to replace the outgoing manager Unai Emery.

The Andalusians under him are third in the table coming into match day nine. They have five wins, two draws, and just one loss so far.

The Argentine enjoyed a great pre season with his new club in the US and Germany where they managed to win all their friendlies. He also spent up to €56.2m in the summer transfer window to bring in 11 players of his choice.

Meanwhile Diego Simeone has Los Colchoneros undefeated so far this season in all competitions, with only three goals conceded after 11 matches. After surprisingly starting the season poorly, Simeone decided to stop playing with two holding midfielders to open up the pitch more and thus making the team more offensive.

More from Playing for 90

The results have gone well since then and they have won eight out of last nine games, including a huge win versus Bayern Munich in Champions League. They have also managed to get some high scoring wins against Celta Vigo , Sporting Gijon, and Granada along the way where they scored a whopping 16 goals in just three games.

Sevilla are also in top form coming into this match. The Andalusians have won four out of last five games, including a win against Leganes last weekend which ended their 17 months away win drought and very much boosted their confidence.

Luciano Vietto has been included in the 18 men list for match and could be in the starting line up face his parent club. Meanwhile another Atletico loanee Matias Kranevitter and Japanese international Hiroshi Kiyotake have been left out due to technical decision. 

While Timothee Kolodziejczak is back after an injury layoff, Beniot Tremoulinas, Daniel Carrico, Michael Krohn-Deli, and David Soria are all going to miss out due to lengthy injuries.

The away side is not without injury problems either. Augusto Fernandez, Jose Maria Gimenez, Miguel Angel Moya, and Alessio Cerci are all unavailable for this match. Former Sevilla boy Kevin Gameiro though is all clear to face his old club.

Their recent meetings have been very intense. In last season’s encounters, Atletico went into Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to claim a 3-0 win over the home side but struggled at home and had to settle for a 0-0 draw.

Sampaoli has been playing with many different formations so far. He started out by experimenting with a 3-6-1 formation, before moving on to different variations of 4-1-3-2, 3-5-2, and 4-1-2-1-2. They have been playing end to end football and their stats will be an evidence of that as they have scored 16 goals in eight games but conceded up to 12.

For this game, the 56-year-old Argentine could go back to 3-6-1 in order to overload the midfield and have the majority of possession. It can also help the team to high press the visitors as soon they as they lose the ball. Three center backs in defense are necessary as well as Atletico are excellent in the air. Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan has always been a fortress for the club and they will definitely use the home crowd to their advantage.

While Simeone will come out with a usual 4-4-2 instead of a more offensive 4-3-3. Partnering the defensive oriented Gabi with a more creative Koke has been going very well in the midfield and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco is phenomenal in the right wing this season. Although Gameiro only has three goals in eight appearances, his partnership with Antione Griezmann have been getting better as the two speedy forwards have caused some damage to opposition defenses.

Overall, this will be a great match with end to end football and huge intensity. It will be entertaining on and off the field as both managers are famously known for their antics in the sidelines.

More from La Liga

The home side is still lacking a reliable goalscorer and that can cause them the game. Although Wissam Ben Yedder is starting to slowly adjust to the team, it will be hard for him or any other Sevilla player to get into the scoring sheet against the incredible Atletico defense. Forwards can be a decisive factor and the visitors, who have better goal scorers, will likely escape with three points.

Projected Line ups

Sevilla (3-6-1) – Sergio Rico; Pareja, Rami, Mercado; Vitolo, Iborra, N’Zonzi, Nasri, Franco Vasquez, Mariano; Ben Yedder.

Atletico Madrid (4-4-2) – Oblak; Filipe Luis, Godin, Savic, Juanfran; Saul, Koke, Gabi, Carrasco; Griezmann, Gameiro.

Home/La Liga