Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla preview

January 30, 2013
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Atletico vs SevillaA place in Copa del Rey will be up for grabs when Atletico Madrid take on Sevilla at Vicente Calderon, although this is just the first leg of the highly anticipated clash.

Once considered true giants of Spanish football, Atletico Madrid are on the way to return to old glory days, with Diego Simeone’s men doing the club proud with their performances on the pitch.

While los Colchoneros were not able to mount a serious title challenge in La Liga, they are still four points ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid, while also doing well in other competitions entered.

Weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao may have been seen as a big setback, but Diego Simeone’s side will have an excellent opportunity to make amends for the loss, given they now battle Sevilla for a place in Copa del Rey final.

Even if star striker Radamel Falcao remains an injury doubt, Atletico Madrid are 1.73 (8/11) favourites with Coral to win the first leg.

On the other hand, los Colchoneros are 1.53 (8/15) at 888sport to make it to the final, where they would face one of the El Clasico rivals.

Radamel Falcao Garcia is the only injury doubt, but the latest reports suggest he could play some part in this match.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Courtois – Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Filipe Luis – Gabi, Mario – Koke, Turan, Adrian – Diego Costa.

This has been a pretty disappointing season for Sevilla, who currently occupy the 11th place in the La Liga standings, but their Copa del Rey campaign might just save them the blushes.

The team have been showing a lot of improvement since former Valencia boss Unai Emery took over, with draws against Zaragoza and Getafe followed by comfortable home wins over again Zaragoza and Granada.

Everybody at the club is aware Sevilla would ensure European qualification by reaching Copa del Rey final, which is why the tie against Atletico Madrid is extremely important for los Rojiblancos.

After goalkeeper Diego Lopez was sold to Real Madrid, boss Unai Emery is hoping Andres Palop will recover in time to face Atletico, or else he would have to use inexperienced Julian Cuesta.

Sevilla, who will be without Piotr Trochowski and Diego Perotti, are 2.75 (7/4) with Ladbrokes to qualify for the next round.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Palop – Cicinho, Spahic, Fazio, Navarro – Medel, Kondogbia – Navas, Rakitic, Reyes – Negredo.

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