Sevilla v Atlético Preview – Saturday 4pm GolTV; “The Winning Loser”

By: Anthony | February 20th, 2009

So it’s needless to say that this will be a match of two pretty highly prestigious Spanish sides. This time around though unlike the first time when we beat Atléti 1-0 in the Vicenté Calderón, is a match where both sides have a massive point to prove. Of late both of us have struggled greatly, losing numerous matches and slipping off the pace making this game more crucial than meets the eye.

High expectations have surrounded us this season and this recent slump has brought out the mass amounts of critics in full effect. We have a lot to prove in regards to whether we belong in the “top four” or not and as to if we really have what it takes to pick ourselves up off the ground and perform like everyone knows we’re capable of. Atlético on the other hand have had struggles of their own, I wasn’t really sure of specifics so me and my fellow La Liga blogger Al over at the Atlético Offside did a collab on everything you need to know about our possibly most important match of the season.

A few questions for both of us sums up what tomorrow is going to ultimately be about.

My questions to Al:
1- How are Atlético currently doing in terms of performance?

Not good at all, I’d describe our attitude and mentality as “utter bollocks”. So far in 2009, they only managed to win once, lose three times (twice at home), and draw four times. It’s very embarrassing. We underperformed so much that our coach got sacked and we’re still trying to “discover” ourselves again. Our new coach implemented a more offensive approach to our game and it worked wonders against Recre two matches ago (0-3) but it didn’t work against Getafe last weekend (1-1). It’s still too early to see if he knows what he’s doing.

2- Who do you think are the most effective, consistent and dangerous players on the Atléti squad that Sevilla should be aware of?

“Kun” Aguero is a given. The kid is slick, he’ll shock any defense and if he is left alone in the box, he’ll probably score. Fortunately for you guys, he’s been having a dry spell and has only scored once so far in the year. I’d say that our current best player is Forlan, who isn’t as tricky as Aguero but has a powerful shot and is just as good in the box, he even scores more often. Simao is also a player to watch out for, as his assists and free kicks are excellent. Set pieces have given us many, many goals this season.

3- Can you update us on injuries or superstitions that any Atlético players might have?

Luis Garcia has been injured for a while but that’s about it for injuries. As for superstitions, there really aren’t any…. I just know that it’s a heated match and that there’s a history of bad blood between both groups of supporters.

4- What do you think of Sevilla at the moment?

Inconsistent, but they aren’t the best “non Real or Barca” team in La Liga for nothing. They are without a doubt a better team than Atletico is right now, because for every loss they’ve made up with two wins. They are a very dynamic team, and I’m very afraid of your strikers (Luis Fabiano and Kanoute). They are definitely proving that they have what it takes to get a Champions League spot, although the race is very, very tight.

5- Do you think that there will be many Atlético players rested considering you have a Champions League game coming up midweek?

Probably a few of the defenders, because we may throw in Pablo Ibanez or Antonio Lopez in the center and left respectively. I expect the usual midfield and forwards to play the match, with Sinama-Pongolle probably making a cameo in place of Aguero sometime in the second half. Our lineups aren’t very different because our roster is small.

6- Last but not least, what is your lineup and prediction for the game?

Lineup: Leo Franco; Perea, Ujfalusi, Ibanez, A. Lopez – Maniche, Raul Garcia, Maxi, Simao – Kun, Forlan

Prediction: 1-1

Hmm.. Not convincing but the way we’ve been playing of late neither are we. Here’s what I had to say to Al:

1- How are Sevilla currently doing in terms of performance?

What can I say? We’re not doing that bad overall, despite our recent run of frustratingly sub-par poor results we’re still third in the table and have one foot in the final of the Copa del Rey, both of which are quite the achievements. Performance wise lately we’ve been poor overall but we always seem to play better against the big boys and hopefully this match will be no different.

2- Who do you think are the most effective, consistent and dangerous players on the Sevilla squad that Atléti should be aware of?

Kanouté is of course the biggest threat up front, and not tightly marking him would be a huge mistake. Also anyone who knows football or watches us knows that we play down the flanks and are extremely dangerous when Navas and Capel are running at defenders so to mark them tightly would be your safest bet.

3- Can you update us on injuries or superstitions that any Sevilla players might have?

Well basically this is the story of our season, injuries, injuries, and more injuries. Javi Navarro, our beloved captain is still out with his career threatening injury, Koné who showed so much promise in pre-season is still out although he is back to full training and should appear soon. Our right back Abdolay Konko is a game-time decision, Luis Fabiano is day-to-day and Chevantón was just today ruled out for the rest of the season… Great…

4- What do you think of Atlético at the moment?

I think Atléti are in a very similar position to us in the sense that they have loads of quality in the squad but have failed to deliver. Some of it may be due to high expectations but I really didn’t expect to see the team that stole our Champions League spot last year to be struggling this much. Of course though with Agüero, Forlán and Simão you guys have a solid front line and we definitely have to thoroughly think through our approach for the match, especially defensively.

5. What do you expect Sevilla to accomplish by the end of the season?

Realistically I expect us to clinch a Champions League spot and start to play some better football in the coming weeks, something we’ve been struggling to do of late. The Copa del Rey would be an awsome addition to our trophy cabinet but I realize it’s going to be one hell of a task (never say never though). If we can qualify for the Champions League then I really think we can build a solid squad for next year and hopefully cement our position as one of the elite teams in Spain.

6- Last but not least, what is your lineup and prediction for the game?

Lineup:
Palop
Mosquera – Dragutinovic – Squillaci – Navarro
Navas – Fazio – Romaric – Capel
Renato – Kanouté

Prediction: I can see Atlético resting a few key players ahead of their Champions League tie with Porto mid-week and that combined with a recently struggling Atléti back four will see the result fall in our favour 2-0.

Other Team News
Young stars Diego Perotti, and José Carlos who both made their debuts in Montjuïc were called up to the squad again due to the absence of both Luis Fabiano and Chevantón. It’s good to see these boys come through the Cantera and eventually break through to the first team. Due to the importance of this game it’s hard to say how much playing time they’ll actually get but none the less it’s nice to see the talent is present.

Also today it was announced (as I mentioned earlier) that Chevantón has been ruled out for the rest of the season as he went in for an MRI scan due to his reoccurring knee problems and the results showed that he will need surgery causing him to miss the remainder of the 2008-2009 “temporada”. This now leaves us with just Kanouté who is the only striker who is 100% fully fit. This is a huge blow to us considering we’re struggling as it is to score goals, hopefully Fabiano will return soon and until then Acosta if fit can play behind Freddie.

Copa del Rey Latest
The second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals against Athletic Bilbao which will take place in San Mames has been officially scheduled for Wednesday March 4th at 20:00 or 2pm EST.