Sevilla Preview and Podcast

By: Corey | October 1st, 2009

Real Madrid vs. Sevilla
Sunday October 4th 3pm eastern
Ramon Sanchez Pijuan
Jornada 6

Los nervionenses host Real Madrid in the Sanchez Pijuan this Sunday in the first game between top teams in La Liga, and its sure to be a cracker. Both teams are in great form, with Sevilla only conceding once (4 League wins) since their opening day defeat to Valencia, and Real has won all of its games in the league so far, scoring the most and conceding the least. If we could somehow throw Barcelona on the field at the same time, Spain may explode with goals. Not a very good joke, but the best way to illustrate my point is to show the stats, so here you are, a comparison of the two team’s goal production and form (click on the pictures for a better view).

Sevilla

Real Madrid

As you can see, they are pretty even in terms of goals scored and conceded as well as form, but notice that Sevilla scores early and then controls the game while Real has scored a majority of its goals in the second half, with an astounding 6 in the final throws of a game. Real again showed that they were a second half team with 3 in a 6 minute span against Marseille, while Sevilla spread their goals out across second half, but looked decisive when Rangers tired. Both teams are in tremendous form, with Real yet to drop a point and Sevilla only having the lose to Valencia as a blemish to their record. Both offenses are firing on all cylinders, and the defenses have remained water as of yet. Something has to give this Sunday then….

Sevilla Team News:

I really can never attest to hating a team, it just is not logical. How could one hate an entity, a badge or a stadium? Many of us Real fans hate Barcelona for various reasons, and of course the feeling is mutual. The same goes for the Basque teams and Atletico (all teams I suppose). But with Sevilla, I feel the hate that their fans have for Real, its palpable in the Sanchez Pijuan at times, and I think its because Sevilla knows its on the up, and Real was the easier of the two teams to know off the top. Probably is not the case any more, but this match is hot blooded just like our tradition Madrileno derbis or El Classico is. This is a big game for both teams, and I have to say I am not as confident in the win as I have been all season.

The team has shown itself to be more then capable of winning on the road, but it has yet to show that it will play its own game (even that is a little fuzzy) on the road, instead of nullifying the opponent and then exploiting their weakness. With the reception certain to be hostile in the Sanchez Pijuan, Real will probably be a bit rattled in the early going. But fear not, because there is a way to beat Sevilla, and its all to simple I am afraid. Win the midfield battle, and you rob them of the possession they need to run a complex offense and the wing play that their forwards rely on for service.

Jimenez has a large and deep squad at his disposal, with several quality role players. Sometimes you look at a team like this and say to yourself, “How are some of these guys not getting upset with such little playing time like they would at a Real or Barcelona?”. Not really sure, but Jimenez is man managing them well so far. Sevilla has a great keeper in Andres Palop, one of the many who were rejected by Valencia only to become exceptional players once they left the Mestalla. I still rate him higher then Villarreal’s Diego Lopez, although I think Del Bosque has his mind made up for the WC already in terms of keepers. Palop is a match winner for Sevilla, and other the claiming a corner or center, there are very few flaws to his technique. Sound like anyone you know who wears gloves to work?

In the defense I see frailty more because of my own prejudice then actual performance this season. While Konko has been terrific this year, and likewise Fernando Navarro, I do not rate Squillaci or Escude all that highly. I watched Squillaci play a lot when he was with Lyon, and he always seemed to have the worst judgement when competing for a ball. All to often he would end up fouling the player because he took the physical route to a tackle, as opposed to the more elegant route of stripping a ball or a toe poke. He is hard nosed in a sense, but he is also beatable in a physical duel because he is not all to impressive physically. Although 6 feet tall, he is not great in the air, unless you count climbing on players backs, and he is slow to go down for a slide tackle. Escude in the same sense is not impressive physically, but he reads the game well. They make a good partnership, but they can be found out.

Konko is a quick player, something of a poor mans Dani Alves if you will. He attacks a far bit and combines well with Jesus Navas down the wing. Limiting his contribution offensively may be key to limiting the attacks of Sevilla. As wing play is so important to the team, keeping Konko and Fernando Navarro in their own half will help limit the amount of danger from the wings. Sergio Sanchez provides covers at right back and Dragutinovic at center back. I always liked Sergio Sanchez as a player, and his moved to Sevilla was no surprise, but I do not see him winning the starting job from Navarro, such is the difference in style that Sergio Sanchez may be to negative and immobile a player to fit in. Adriano also provides an option at left or right back, and is one of those role payers who seems to do a great job whenever called on. He started against Rangers and scored, so we may see him in the midfield this weekend.

The center midfield acts as a ball collection machine and organizes play, if nothing else. That is unless Renato is playing. Traditionally Jimenez will use Didier Zokora and one of Romaric, Lolo or Duscher to keep the opponent from having to much freedom in the midfield. The double pivot also helps in closing down some of the space left on the wings by the attacking fullbacks. Against Bilbao Jimenez sensed Chaparro was going to a brute and kick Sevilla to death, so he used Renato in the center of midfield, and he ran circles around them. Lolo was deployed to do the kicking, and he looked pretty good. I imagine Lolo and Zokora will reprise their partnership against Real, as they did against Rangers, and keep things simple in the center. Zokora is a good passer from right to left and vice vera, but force him to put a ball on the ground in to space for Luis Fabiano, and well your asking to much. Lolo I can not say much of his passing skills, but his physical style has endeared him to the fans as he will put in a tireless effort to win the ball back. If Lass is to 50-50 for this game, I want Mahamadou to do battle with these two.

Renato is an option, but I think Jimenez, despite being at home, will keep his cards close to his chest and use him as a second half substitute. Fazio could also fill in, but he is more of a stop gap player still, able to cover multiple positions included center back. I do not expect the central midfield to be overly ambitious, so it is up to Pellegrini on whether he wants to put stress on them, or simply match them man for man and try to push play through somewhere else. The wings are where Sevilla thrives, with the mercurial Jesus Navas and the talented youngster Diego Perotti providing a majority of the chances for the strikers. Both are very dangerous with their speed in skill on the wings, where Real still look a little uncertain in the defense. Jesus Navas use to be a fun player to watch, but his final ball was lacking, but he has improved that aspect of his game, as evident by the Rangers match where he provided Kanoute with a pin-point pass that should have been a goal. Navas also has improved his finishing, with a well taken goal against Bilbao. Although a prototypical winger, he has been cutting inside more often to find chances for a shot, showing that his game is maturing and become less one dimensional. I really like this player, and wish he was with the Spanish NT.

Perotti is less a traditional winger more of a play maker. Not flashy tricks or creative movement, but he remains an elusive dribble with a great final ball and a knack for being in good positions. He also seems blessed with an incredibly accurate shot, able to score from acute angles like his goal against Zaragoza this year. Perotti is still young though, so he does drift out of games when not getting the service he needs from the center midfield, and he typically is replace by Diver Capel (whoever came up with that is brilliant!) in the 60th minute or so. Capel looked so promising but last year he lost his form and showed that like Navas, he can have not just off days, but off months. Capel’s inconsistent play has made him a super-sub if you will, although I have seen nothing to dictate he will get off the bench anytime soon. The likelihood that Adriano starts this game ahead of Perotti means that Capel might not even see playing time. Such is the fall of his stock after being linked with Real and Tottenham for 15 million and several Spanish call ups as a 19 year old. Perotti may do well to take note of what not to do with your career in Capel’s case.

Adriano might start on the left because while he is good at going forward, he may provide a safer option on the flank. Although I think Adriano started against Rangers to give Perotti a bit of rest and keep him from getting hacked to death by the Scots, a little squad rotation will not be in order for Real. Up front Jimenez has four attractive options, although Kone seems to have fallen off the planet and the Real Madrid haunting Javier Chevanton is nothing more then a squad player now. We all know of Luis Fabiano, Kanoute and especially Negredo, and they provide a unique challenge for Pepe and Albiol to deal with, because they will have to use more of their physical attribute then their positioning and cunning in anticipating plays to deal with these three big men. My money is on Fabiano and Negredo starting, as Kanoute was in against Rangers as part of a rotation, and he did not look like his former self despite scoring a tap in. Thus, my expected lineup:

——————Palop———————
Konko—Squillaci–Escude—F. Navarrao
J. Navas—-Zokora—-Lolo—-D. Perotti
———-Luis Fabiano—Negredo———-

Real Madrid Team News:

As of writing this, Ronaldo left the field injured against Marseille. He suffered from traumatic arthritis with bone edema on the right talus bone and a Grade I sprain on the internal lateral ligament of the right ankle. Not good news, and he has to be a doubt for the trip to Seville, although he has until Saturday instead of Friday to prove his fitness. My guess is that he is not pushed into this match, even though it is an important one. We should have Arbeloa back for this match, which is good because Sergio Ramos still is not fully fit for a full game, and Lass should be fine to play after some pain in his right shoulder kept him out of the Marseille match. Gago has a Grade I-II injury on his left thigh muscle and will miss three weeks. Oh darn…

Metzelder and Ruud continue to work out in the gym recovering from their respective injuries, and no time table has been set for either of them to return yet. Because of the busy schedule we have had, a few players were actually rested against Marseille, including Higuan and Granero. Granero’s bench spot was more for his “strop” out of the stadium against Tenerife, but Pellegrini should not be so petty as to keep him off the field for to long. Granero was upset with his own performance, admire his passion for his play. He is still young and the pressure’s of the Bernabeu can get to you. Patience will seem he come through a rough patch of form.

If Ronaldo can not make the match, we have a tactical rethink on our hands, but it also guarantees another game for the revived Guti. He was excellent against Marseille, and I think he will again have a strong game against Sevilla. The three man midfield worked well (worked well as in minus Gago) but it still needs some fine tuning, say in keeping up with the quick breaks that Kaka and Ronaldo like to lead. To often Xabi, Guti and Gago/Lass are way behind play, so Ronaldo, Kaka or the strikers get out numbered. A quick break does not have to end in a chance, it can lead to further possession by pushing the opponent deep in to their own half, and the midfield needs to get above the center circle in order to provide outlet passes to do just that.

The wing backs will need to be very focused on their defensive responsibilities as well, because Jimenez probably will not require Adriano/Perotti or Navas to drop back as often to help defend as they are at home. Marcelo played very well against Marseille so he will probably get the start, and he will have his hands full with Navas. Abriel is not a natural winger blessed with pace like Navas is, so this is a more meaningful challenge, and the two players are like for like in a way. Sergio Ramos will also have his hands full with Adriano or Perotti, although I think for the most part he will be able to handle them, as long as he is fit. He seemed to be a little behind the pace of the Marseille game, probably because he did not have much of a preseason and is still getting in to match shape. He has looked good though so far, so lets hope that continues.

I have been impressed by Kaka and Ronaldo sure, they have been excellent. Xabi and Granero have done a good job for us so far as well, while Benzema has looked good at times, and lost at other times. Garay and Arbeloa, in the few appearances they made were solid, but the player who impressed me most out of the new recruits has been Albiol. Is it any wonder that we have conceded just 2 goals so far this season in the league, 4 goals in total? It has been Albiol, and he has been masterful. And now that Pepe has returned, we have a very formidable center back partnership that will only get better with time. The fact that Eazy G and Metzelder, when healthy, have also played their part and been solid as well is a welcome addition to this squad, after years of trouble in the defense. We could still use work back there, but we are not conceding, and this is so important to winning games.

My lineup for Sunday is as follows:

————-Casillas————–
S. Ramos—-Pepe—Albiol—-Marcelo
—-Guti—-Xabi Alonso—-Lass—-
————–Kaka—————
———Benzema—Raul———-

I think we will only see one change, which is forced in the absence of Ronaldo. Sevilla fans breath a sigh of relief. But, this is now Kaka’s offense to run, and Guti’s passes will be instrumental. I dont want to see Lass moving any further forward then the center circle! He has gotten to ambitious with his runs and has lost a lot of his defensive game because he is always out of position. Sit back and win the ball for us, let Guti and Xabi do the probing and prodding! At least Gago is injured for three weeks, so we wont see him mucking up the midfield.

With Higuain missing sitter after sitter, or in general shooting for the moon, there is no way to justify his inclusion in the starting lineup. He should have scored twice last night, instead he continues to dig himself a deeper hole and make all of us Higuain fans look like idiots. Benzema played well in parts of the game, but I still worry about his compatibility with Raul up front.

On the Podcast I predicted a 3-2 win for Real. I wont even bother guessing the scorers, I never get them right anyways, but here is to a Real Madrid victory. HALA MADRID, HALA MADRID, HALA MADRID! I will be in New York on Sunday, so I am trying to decide between Nevada Smith’s and getting back to my apartment for the game. Since its a 3pm eastern time game, I will probably just head back to Connecticut for the match. Anyone interested in a liveblog, or would you prefer I actually do a review of the match this time? Taking nothing away from Dancy’s work of course. Let me know in the comments.

The podcast is posted here for everyone to listen to, but it would be nice if you guys go over to the OwnGoalNetwork and drop a few lines there, as Kevin has done the bulk of the work for this little venture and we owe him our support. Check out La Liga Weekly and let me know if you guys like the setup of the site and all of that, just for future reference. The podcasts are hosted here, the iTunes link is here, and the OwnGoalNetwork is here.