Real Madrid vs Sevilla Prediction: Back Mbappe to score on Sunday

Premier Sports 2 is the place to be for those looking to tune in for Sevilla's trip to Real Madrid on Sunday afternoon (15:15).

Our Spanish football expert signs-off for the calendar year with his match preview as Spain heads into a winter break. Check out his thoughts on the match and those all-important Real Madrid vs Sevilla Predictions...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

With their two main title rivals facing off this weekend, Sunday's home fixture against bottom half Sevilla presents Real Madrid with the opportunity to make up some ground at the top of La Liga. 

It's not that long ago that Sevilla were being talked about as potential title candidates themselves during Julen Lopetegui's reign, but those days already seem like a long time ago at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. Following 12th and 14th place finishes, Sevilla's capabilities are much more limited right now and they travel to the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday more in hope than expectation. 

They take on a Real Madrid side that won another piece of silverware in midweek. Carlo Ancelotti named a strong eleven as Los Blancos brushed aside Pachuca 3-0 to win the Intercontinental Cup with forwards Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo all on target. 

While a midweek trip to Qatar was probably the last thing Real Madrid needed after last weekend's 3-3 thriller against an all-action Rayo Vallecano side, Ancelotti would have been pleased to see Mbappé making a swifter than expected return from injury with a morale boosting goal. 

Real Madrid's form has been a bit patchy of late, but they have still made up some ground on Barcelona over the past few weeks, with 13 points a decent return from their last six league games given their packed schedule and defensive injury problems. 

Ancelotti still needs to solve the puzzle as to how best fit in-form Jude Bellingham into the same team as Mbappé and Vinícius. Injuries have meant that there have been relatively few occasions when they've all started of late. 

However, the main concern moving forwards for Real Madrid this season is at the other end of the pitch. It looks likely that midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni will again fill in as the second centre-back alongside Antonio Rüdiger, but there is little cover in that position. Meanwhile Lucas Vázquez remains the only option at right-back, unless Fede Valverde also vacates his natural midfield role. 

Sevilla will be hoping to exploit some of those issues, and they did score three excellent goals in this city against Atlético Madrid only a fortnight ago. Those strikes did come from only four shots though, and it was a game they still ended up losing, despite holding a two goal advantage at one stage. 

Their boss García Pimienta is approaching half a season in the role now, having made the switch from Las Palmas in the summer. He was under pressure early on in his reign, but it does feel like the 50-year-old has firmly got his feet under the desk now, and may bring some much needed stability to the Sevilla dressing room after a turbulent couple of years since Lopetegui's exit in 2022. 

He has overseen six victories in 17 games so far in La Liga, but only one of those wins came on the road where they average only 0.75 points per game. 

They were winners last time out, with youngster Manu Bueno scoring the only goal at home to Celta Vigo. The result was slightly overshadowed by a fond Sánchez Pizjuán farewell for club legend Jesús Navas. The 39-year-old is retiring after this game after a glittering career that has seen him be crowned a world and European champion with Spain, while he also won eight trophies with his boyhood club. 

Team News: 

Vinícius Junior is the most significant absentee for Real Madrid, with the recently crowned Fifa Best men's player of the year sidelined due to suspension. That should ensure Rodrygo is a starter, along with Mbappé in attack, while Bellingham is also expected to be fit despite a fresh injury scare. 

Defensively, the hosts are still missing Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão and David Alaba to ACL injuries. Meanwhile, Ferland Mendy is also carrying a knock, so Fran García looks likely to continue at left-back.

Navas was a starter for Sevilla last time out, but may only feature off the bench here in what will be the final game of a career that has spanned more than 900 matches for club and country. 

The visitors are hampered by injuries for Tanguy Nianzou, Chidera Ejuke, Djibril Sow and Adrià Pedrosa. Álvaro Fernández is expected to continue in goal, despite the return to fitness of Ørjan Nyland. 

Real Madrid vs Sevilla Odds

Real Madrid start as the 3/10 favourites to win their final game of 2024. You can back the Draw at 9/2, while Sevilla are priced at 17/2 to cause a major upset. 

Los Blancos have won five of their last nine games in all competitions to nil and a repeat is priced at 6/5 here. You can also back Real Madrid and Over 2.5 goals at 8/11, while Real Madrid and Under 3.5 goals is on offer at 6/5. 

If you're expecting the visitors to be competitive, Sevilla +2.00 Handicap is priced at 9/10. The Andalusians are also available at 3/1 to win either half in this game, while Sevilla over 0.5 goals is priced at 8/11. 

Without Vinícius, Ancelotti will be hoping that Bellingham can continue his stunning recent form. The Englishman has scored in each of his last six appearances in La Liga. He's available at 6/1 to score first and 13/8 to score anytime in this one. 

From a Sevilla perspective, Dodi Lukébakio looks their most likely goal threat, with the winger on seven league goals for the season already. He's priced at 10/1 to score the first goal, while he's on offer at 3/1 to score anytime. 

Bet 1 - Real Madrid over 1.5 Second Half goals @ 5/4 

The midweek win in Doha was the latest example of Real Madrid being a little bit slow to get into their groove, before ultimately pulling clear and claiming a convincing victory. They also fell two down in Vallecas in a brilliant game last weekend, before fighting back to draw, while 65% of their home league goals this term have come in the Second Half. 

We could see a slightly similar pattern play out here. Sevilla have some capable footballers and they carry a threat out wide with Lukébakio. However, it still feels like they have quite a soft centre and that may ultimately be exposed, as was the case when they conceded three goals in the final 30 minutes to lose at the Estadio Metropolitano the weekend before last. 

They've conceded five goals after the 75th minute on their travels in La Liga already this term, and I'm backing Real Madrid to score over 1.5 Second Half goals at 5/4 in this one. 

Bet 2 - Kylian Mbappé to score anytime @ 8/11 

There have been glimpses of a more confident and more clinical Mbappé in recent weeks. He has scored on each of his last three Real Madrid appearances and even when he was not converting chances earlier in the season, the Frenchman was still getting in lots of good positions and firing in plenty of shots. 

With Vinícius suspended, Mbappé should either feature on the left of a front two, or on the left wing which will enable him to cut inside onto his favoured right foot. Up against a Sevilla defence that has already conceded five at Barcelona and four away to Atlético Madrid this season, I'm backing Mbappé to score anytime at 8/11 here. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...