🏏 Sun, 18 Oct 2026 21:00 CEST
Real Madrid
vs
Sevilla
4-2-3-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Real Madrid sit fourth on 18 points from eight matches, with a striking 6-0-2 record that includes no draws at all and a goal difference of +11. Sevilla are sixth on 14 points (4W 2D 2L, +1). With Barcelona already clear at the top on 27 points from nine games, both of these sides are chasing from behind with a match in hand.
- Madrid's last five league outings read L-W-W-L-W. Both defeats came on the road, 1-0 at Real Betis in round 4 and 2-1 at Atletico Madrid in round 7, while the wins were a 4-1 rout of Rayo Vallecano at home, a 3-2 success at Elche and a tight 1-0 over Villarreal at the Bernabeu in round 8.
- Sevilla come in on D-W-W-L-D. Single-goal wins over Valencia at home and Deportivo La Coruna away were followed by a 1-3 home loss to Barcelona and a breathless 3-3 draw at Levante in round 8. Twelve goals conceded in eight games is the clear vulnerability against a Madrid side that has scored 19.
- Both managers have gone 4-2-3-1, so the double-pivot duel will shape the game. Aurelien Tchouameni (26, 187cm, formerly of Monaco and Bordeaux) anchors for Madrid alongside Jude Bellingham (23), the box-to-box runner signed from Borussia Dortmund. Sevilla counter with Lucien Agoume (24), who came through Sochaux and spent time at Inter, Troyes and Brest, partnered by Fofana.
- Containing Kylian Mbappe (27, the France forward who arrived via Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain) is Sevilla's biggest task. The centre-back pairing asked to do it is young: left-footed academy product Kike Salas (24, 188cm) and Andres Castrin (23, 188cm), signed from CD Lugo. Managing the space in behind will decide how long they stay in the match.
- Madrid's attacking band averages just 20 years of age. Yan Diomande is a 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger who joined from RB Leipzig in August 2026 for what is reported as a club-record fee, having turned professional at Leganes. Alongside him are Arda Guler (21), the left-footed Turk who wore No.10 at Fenerbahce, and Endrick (20), a 72m-euro signing from Palmeiras.
- Sevilla's support line is cosmopolitan. Felix Correia (25) is a Sporting CP graduate whose career has taken in Manchester City, Juventus and Lille; Peque Fernandez (24) came through Barcelona's La Masia before making his name at Racing Santander; and Ruben Vargas (28) is a Switzerland international who was a regular at Augsburg. Leading the line is Robbie Ure, a 189cm Scot born in 2004.
- There is one reunion on the teamsheet. Sevilla's 200cm reserve goalkeeper Fran Gonzalez spent 12 seasons in Cultural Leonesa's youth setup before joining Real Madrid, and he is named among the substitutes at the Bernabeu. He is rated for his reflexes and shot-stopping, so any minutes here would carry extra meaning.
- Madrid have conceded only eight goals in eight league games. Dean Huijsen (21, 195cm), who built his reputation at Juventus and Bournemouth, lines up next to France international Ibrahima Konate (27, 194cm), signed from Liverpool, with 200cm Belgian Thibaut Courtois (34) behind them. Federico Valverde, a midfielder by trade, has again been named in the back four.
- The benches could decide the final half hour. Madrid can call on Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eduardo Camavinga, former Manchester City playmaker Bernardo Silva (32), Antonio Rudiger (33) and ex-Inter right-back Denzel Dumfries (30), who scored in the Netherlands' 2022 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina. Sevilla hold back Nigeria winger Chidera Ejuke (28), a Champions League performer with CSKA Moscow, and Senegalese centre-back Arnaud Sangante (24), once captain at Le Havre.