Atletico Madrid will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga when they continue their 2023-24 campaign at home to an out-of-form Sevilla outfit on Sunday evening.
Diego Simeone's side will enter the contest off the back of an incredible 7-0 victory against Rayo Vallecano, while Sevilla's poor start to the season continued with a 2-1 home reverse to Girona.
Match preview
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Atletico created history against Rayo on Monday evening, with their 7-0 win proving to be their biggest-ever away success in Spain's top flight, and it was an incredible performance from Simeone's side.
Antoine Griezmann, Memphis Depay, Nahuel Molina, Angel Correa and Marcos Llorente were on the scoresheet, while Alvaro Morata grabbed a second-half brace, and the result, more importantly, moved the Red and Whites onto seven points from their opening three games, which is currently enough for second in the table.
Atletico opened their season with a 3-1 victory over Granada before being held to a goalless draw by Real Betis, but they will now be aiming to make it back-to-back wins ahead of the international break.
Simeone's team beat Sevilla in both league matches last season, including a 6-1 victory on home soil, while they were 2-0 winners at Estadio Ramon in the first half of the campaign.
The Red and Whites finished third in La Liga last season but will have been encouraged by their form in the second half of the campaign, and a challenge for the title cannot be ruled out.
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Sevilla, meanwhile, are currently rock bottom of the table, losing their opening three games of the season to Valencia, Alaves and Girona during a very disappointing start.
Jose Luis Mendilibar's side performed impressively against Manchester City in the UEFA Super Cup on August 16, taking the match to penalties following a 1-1 draw, but they ultimately lost the shootout.
Sevilla finished a disappointing 12th in Spain's top flight last term, but their season was saved by their Europa League success, which qualified them for the group stage of the 2023-24 Champions League.
The club's financial problems have made it a difficult summer, though, and there is pressure on their manager despite his heroics in the Europa League last term.
Sevilla spent a chunk of last season battling against the drop, and it seems unthinkable that they could be relegated from Spain's top flight, but there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a very disappointing start to the campaign for Los Nervionenses.
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Team News
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Atletico are likely to be without the services of Saul Niguez due to a muscular problem, while Memphis, Koke, Jose Gimenez and Reinildo are definitely on the sidelines.
At the time of writing, Yannick Carrasco and Joao Felix are in advanced discussions over moves away, so both players are expected to have moved on by the time that this game kicks off.
There are not expected to be any major surprises when it comes to the home side's XI here with Samuel Lino set to come in for Carrasco, while Morata will replace the injured Memphis to feature alongside Griezmann in the final third of the field.
There should also be an introduction in central midfield for Llorente due to Saul's likely absence.
Sevilla, meanwhile, have a host of players currently on the sidelines, with Jesus Navas, Fernando, Marcos Acuna, Marcao, Tanguy Nianzou and Alfonso Pastor unavailable for selection.
The bulk of the side that started the narrow defeat to Girona should keep their spots here despite the disappointment of the result, with Youssef En-Nesyri again set to lead the line.
Ivan Rakitic and Oliver Torres will both be bidding to keep hold of their starting roles, but the likes of Erik Lamela and Joan Jordan will be in the manager's thinking when it comes to potential alterations.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Savic, Witsel, Hermoso, Lino; De Paul, Barrios, Llorente; Morata, Griezmann
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Gattoni, Bade, Gudelj, Pedrosa; Sow, Rakitic; Suso, Torres, Ocampos; En-Nesyri
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Sevilla
Atletico will be in a good place following their huge win over Rayo last time out, but the same cannot be said for a struggling Sevilla outfit. The visitors have the quality to secure a positive result, but we are finding it difficult to back anything other than a home success on Sunday evening.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
