Preview: Sevilla vs. Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news

Atletico Madrid will be looking to record their 21st La Liga victory of the season when they travel to Estadio Ramon on Sunday evening to take on Sevilla.

Diego Simeone 's side are currently top of the table, four points clear of second-placed Barcelona, while Sevilla occupy fourth position, 10 points clear of fifth-placed Real Sociedad.

Match preview

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Sevilla are comfortable in the top four, with 10 points separating them from fifth-placed Real Sociedad, and they are only five points behind third-placed Real Madrid heading into the next set of fixtures.

Securing another top-four position in La Liga was the minimum requirement for Julen Lopetegui 's side this season, and they now only have league matters to focus on between now and the end of the campaign.

Indeed, the Europa League holders were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Barcelona at the start of March before being eliminated in the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund.

Sevilla have picked up seven points from their last three league matches, beating Real Betis and Elche at home before playing out a 1-1 draw with Real Valladolid before the international break.

Los Nervionenses will now be looking to do some damage to Atletico's title hopes, and they have the third-best home form in La Liga this term, picking up 31 points from their 14 matches.

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Atletico, meanwhile, are no longer comfortable at the top of the table, with just four points separating them from second-placed Barcelona, while Real Madrid are just six points off the summit in third.

Simeone's team were knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea in the middle of March but did manage to return to winning ways before the international break, beating Alaves at home courtesy of a second-half goal from Luis Suarez, who has 19 league strikes to his name this term.

The capital giants, like Sevilla, now only have La Liga to focus on, which could certainly help them as they go in search of their first league title since 2013-14.

Atletico have impressed on their travels this season, winning nine, drawing three and losing one of their 13 matches, but they have the best home form in La Liga, collecting 36 points from 15 matches.

Barca and Real Madrid will both be looking to close the gap this weekend, and there is simply no downplaying the importance of this match as Simeone's side look to remain at the summit.

Sevilla La Liga form:

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Sevilla form (all competitions):

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Atletico Madrid La Liga form:

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Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

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Sevilla could again be without the services of Aleix Vidal due to a hamstring injury, but the home side are otherwise in good shape, meaning that Lopetegui has a number of decisions to make.

Fernando is fully fit following a slight problem and should start in the middle of the park, with Joan Jordan and Ivan Rakitic also potentially earning positions in the first XI.

Suso and Youssef En-Nesyri are certain starters in the final third of the field, while Lucas Ocampos is expected to be given the nod over Papu Gomez, who could drop to the bench.

As for Atletico, Yannick Carrasco is suspended due to the yellow card that he picked up against Alaves last time out, meaning that Saul Niguez could feature as the left-sided wing-back.

Joao Felix is also still out with an ankle problem, which should see Angel Correa start alongside leading scorer Suarez in the final third of the field.

There are not expected to be any major surprises in the away side's XI on Sunday, with Stefan Savic, Jose Gimenez and Mario Hermoso set to continue as the three-man defence.

Koke is likely to be the deepest of the midfielders, with Thomas Lemar and Marcos Llorente featuring ahead of him, meaning that Lucas Torreira and Hector Herrera should again start on the bench.

Sevilla possible starting lineup:

Bounou; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Jordan, Fernando, Rakitic; Suso, En-Nesyri, Ocampos

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Savic, Gimenez, Hermoso; Trippier, Lemar, Koke, Llorente, Saul; Correa, Suarez

We say: Sevilla 1-1 Atletico Madrid

Atletico will certainly be feeling the heat at the top of the table, and they are likely to face one of their toughest matches of the season this weekend. Sevilla are strong on home soil, and we can see Lopetegui's side holding the leaders to a low-scoring draw, but an away victory cannot be completely ruled out.

Top tip

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