Real Madrid vs Sevilla preview, team news, h2h – Nigeria’s Ejuke hunts 5th La Liga goal

Real Madrid vs Sevilla promises to be an enthralling game as the Spanish La Liga navigates through its matchday nine fixtures this weekend.

Chidera Ejuke has started just once in six appearances for Sevilla this season, but Sunday’s trip to the Santiago Bernabéu could be the kind of game that pulls him off the bench earlier than usual.

The Super Eagles star has four goals and two assists in 53 La Liga appearances, since joining Sevilla from Royal Antwerp in 2024. Another goal on Sunday will be his first against Real Madrid and his fifth in the competition, a major milestone to target for the former CSKA Moscow dribbler.

Isaac Romero, Sevilla’s joint-top scorer, serves a one-match ban after his second yellow card against Levante, and Miguel Sierra remains out with a clavicle injury, leaving Luis García Plaza short of attacking options against a Real Madrid side unbeaten at home in La Liga this season.

The fixture kicks off at 21:00 CEST (20:00 in Nigeria) on Sunday, October 18, in matchday nine of La Liga. Real Madrid sit fourth with eighteen points from eight games, four clear of fifth-placed Sevilla, who have not lost away from home in the league this term despite struggling for the win column at the Sánchez-Pizjuán.

Ejuke goal today #Sevilla #AthleticSevilla pic.twitter.com/KPnRtbp4Gx

— Central Sevilla Brasil 🇧🇷🇪🇸 (@Sevillabr16) August 22, 2026

⚽ Real Madrid vs Sevilla
Competition	La Liga, Matchday 9
Kickoff	Sunday, October 18, 2026 — 21:00 CEST (20:00 Nigerian time)
Venue	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
Where to Watch	SuperSport La Liga channel (DStv), GOtv Max, StarTimes
🇳🇬 Super Eagles winger Chidera Ejuke has one goal in six appearances for Sevilla this season, all but one from the bench.

Real Madrid vs Sevilla: Bernabéu fortress against a resilient visitor

Real Madrid have won all four of their home league games this season, scoring thirteen goals and conceding just two,l. That run includes a one-nil win over Villarreal on October 10 in which Vinícius Júnior saw red for pulling Fabio Silva’s marker, Saliba, by the hair.

Away from the Bernabéu, the picture has been less convincing: a one-nil defeat at Real Betis on September 4 and a 1-2 loss at Atlético Madrid on September 20 sit either side of wins over Rayo Vallecano (4-1, September 12) and Elche (3-2, September 15).

Sevilla are unbeaten on the road all season, going two wins and two draws from four away league matches, with eight goals scored and five conceded.

Their most recent result was a three-three draw at Levante on October 12, a game in which Romero was sent off for a second yellow card after celebrating his own equaliser by cupping his hand to his ear toward the home support.

Before that, Sevilla lost 3-1 at home to Barcelona on September 19, won one-nil away at Deportivo de La Coruña on September 16, won one-nil at home against Valencia on September 11 and drew one-all away at Espanyol on September 6.

Gabriel Suazo has been the clearest source of that away resilience. The Sevilla captain has created 12 chances in eight league appearances this season, the highest figure at the club, and his overlapping runs down the left could again put him in direct opposition to whichever of Real Madrid’s wide players lines up against him.

Kylian Mbappé has carried most of Real Madrid’s attacking burden with Vinícius unavailable. The forward has scored seven goals in eight league appearances this season, nine in all competitions, and sits only behind Barcelona’s Raphinha in the overall La Liga scoring chart.

Head-to-head: Real Madrid vs Sevilla

Real Madrid have won each of the last five meetings between the two sides, scoring 10 goals and conceding two across that run.

The most recent, a one-nil win at the Sánchez-Pizjuán on May 17, 2026, followed a two-nil home win in December 2025, another two-nil away win in May 2025, a 4-2 home win in December 2024 and a one-nil home win in February 2024.

The overall record across all competitions favours Real Madrid heavily too, with 101 wins to Sevilla’s 48 and 30 draws from 179 meetings.

Sevilla’s last win over Real Madrid in any competition came in January 2017, a 2-1 victory at home that ended a 40-game unbeaten run for the Madrid side, a result still referenced in Andalusia as proof that even a heavy underdog can land a blow in this fixture.

Real Madrid vs Sevilla: Team news and predicted lineups

Real Madrid	Sevilla
Vinícius Júnior — suspended (red card vs Villarreal) Éder Militão — out (thigh injury) Raúl Asencio — out (tibia fracture, expected January) Rodrygo — out (knee, back by mid-December) Ferland Mendy — doubt (ligament, training with group)	Isaac Romero — suspended (second yellow vs Levante) Miguel Sierra — out (clavicle, early December) Marcão — out (muscle, late October) Jon Guridi — out (muscle, no return date)

With Rodrygo still working his way back from a knee injury and Vinícius banned, José Mourinho has only Mbappé as a fully fit senior forward, which should keep Jude Bellingham and Arda Güler pushed high to support him.

On the other side, Romero’s absence leaves Robbie Ure as Sevilla’s only available central striker, and García Plaza is expected to hand Ejuke his second start of the season. That could offer the Nigerian a rare chance to hurt Real Madrid and power his team to an unlikely win.

Real Madrid vs Sevilla star player comparison: Mbappé vs Suazo

Kylian Mbappé Forward · Real Madrid	Stat	Gabriel Suazo Left-back · Sevilla
7	Goals	0
2	Assists	0
8	Appearances	8
720	Minutes Played	720

Both men have started every league game they have been fit for, yet their numbers tell opposite stories.

Mbappé has scored or assisted nine of Real Madrid’s 19 league goals this season, while Suazo’s influence shows up further up the pitch than his own box, with his 12 chances created the most of any Sevilla player despite starting every game at left-back rather than further forward.

Real Madrid vs Sevilla: The managers

José Mourinho took charge of Real Madrid over the summer and is still shaping his first squad at the club, with Sunday his first competitive meeting with Sevilla since returning to Spanish football.

Luis García Plaza, appointed by Sevilla in March 2026 on a contract running to the summer of 2027, has overseen a side that has been considerably tougher to beat away from home than at the Sánchez-Pizjuán this season.

Real Madrid vs Sevilla: Tactical preview

Real Madrid’s double pivot of Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde has given Mourinho control in midfield in most home games this season, freeing Bellingham and Güler to attack the space between Sevilla’s lines.

Sevilla, with Giorgi Kochorashvili and Lucien Agoumé screening their back four, are more likely to sit in a mid-block and look to break quickly down the flanks, where Suazo’s overlaps on the left and Alfon González’s directness on the right have been their main source of threat in recent weeks.

Chidera Ejuke’s introduction, whenever it comes, would add a different kind of problem for Real Madrid’s right side to solve, given his comfort cutting infield from the left rather than staying wide, a trait that has produced his only goal of the season so far. Despite his limited minutes, he remains one of La Liga’s best dribblers.

Real Madrid’s high line without the injured Militão could leave an opening in behind for whichever Sevilla forward is sharpest on the counter in the closing stages.

The Naija Slip: Best bets for Real Madrid vs Sevilla

Real Madrid’s unbeaten home record this season and Sevilla’s missing frontline make the hosts the clear starting point for any punter looking at this fixture.

Score prediction

Real Madrid’s home form and Mbappé’s early-season scoring rate should be enough to see off a Sevilla side missing its two leading forwards, though Sevilla’s record of scoring in every away game this season suggests they will not leave Madrid empty-handed.

🔮 Real Madrid 3 – 1 Sevilla

Real Madrid’s home scoring rate and Sevilla’s depleted forward line point to a comfortable win for the hosts, though Sevilla’s run of scoring away from home all season suggests they find a reply. Likely scorers: Mbappé (Real Madrid); Alfon González or substitute Ejuke (Sevilla).