Sevilla vs Real Madrid preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Over 2.5 goals

• Both teams to score

• Real Madrid to win or draw

Real Madrid head to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday with their second-place finish in La Liga already in the bag.

However, a meeting with a confident Sevilla side carries far more weight than the table suggests.

Sevilla's recent excellent form has catapulted them up the La Liga table, with three straight wins over Real Sociedad, Espanyol and Villarreal moving them up into 12th spot.

Mathematically, relegation remains a faint possibility, but a victory or a draw on Sunday would all but seal another top-flight season at the Sanchez Pizjuan.

Their home record has been mediocre across the campaign, though, with 25 points from 18 home matches, leaving them with only the 14th-best home return in La Liga this season.

Real Madrid, by contrast, boast the second-best away record in the division, taking 34 points from 18 outings on the road.

Los Blancos are confirmed as runners-up on 80 points, 11 clear of third-placed Villarreal and short of newly crowned champions Barcelona at the top.

Real Madrid's focus will already be on this summer and next season, with Jose Mourinho the heavy favourite to replace Arbeloa at the helm.

The Portuguese will have a huge job on his hands to mend the relationships of senior players at Bernabeu.

The atmosphere inside Bernabeu on Thursday evening was tense, with Kylian Mbappe booed upon his arrival as a substitute, and it is clear that huge changes are needed at the club this summer if they are to enjoy a more prosperous 2026-27 campaign.

Recent history between these clubs reads less like a rivalry and more like a one-way procession.

The reverse fixture this season was a 2-0 win for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on 20 December.

Sevilla are currently on a 14-game winless run against Real Madrid, suffering 12 defeats in the process.

Los Blancos have, in fact, been unbeaten against Sevilla in every fixture played between the sides since 2018, picking up four straight wins in their last four encounters.

Sevilla La Liga form: 🟩🟥🟥🟩🟩🟩

Real Madrid La Liga form: 🟧🟩🟧🟩🟥🟩

Real Madrid form (all competitions): 🟥🟩🟧🟩🟥🟩

Sevilla will be missing Marcao (foot) and Manu Bueno (muscle) on Sunday night through injury, while Isaac Romero requires a late fitness test before his availability can be determined.

Akor Adams has scored three times in his last five league matches and is set to continue in the final third of the field, while Neal Maupay could also keep his spot in the attack.

As for Real Madrid, much has been made of Mbappe's spot on the bench against Real Oviedo, with the Frenchman claiming after the match that he is now the club's fourth-choice forward.

Arbeloa insisted after the game that that was not the case, though, and Mbappe, who was booed by sections of the Bernabeu support on Thursday, is expected to start at Estadio Ramon.

Rodrygo (knee), Arda Guler (hamstring), Eder Militao (hamstring), Ferland Mendy (thigh) and Federico Valverde (head) are all out.

Dean Huijsen and Andriy Lunin both need to be assessed after missing out on the team's last match due to illness.

Sevilla: Vlachodimos; Carmona, Castrin, Salas, Suazo; Vargas, Gudelj, Agoume, Oso; Adams, Maupay

Real Madrid: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen, Rudiger, F Garcia; Pitarch, Tchouameni; Brahim, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

This is a tough match to call.

Sevilla will head into this fixture full of confidence after winning each of their last three league games. They have shown a lot of character in recent weeks, especially in the comeback win over Villarreal.

And with survival still not mathematically secured, they will certainly be highly motivated in front of their home crowd.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid have looked far from convincing this season, and are not exactly in the best place, but they still possess enough quality to trouble any side in the division. 

Nevertheless, it is tough to ignore Los Blancos' record in this fixture, and we are backing the away side to navigate their way to all three points at Estadio Ramon.

Correct score prediction: Sevilla 1-2 Real Madrid