Sevilla vs Real Madrid Preview, tips, h2h & more as Ejuke and Adams target major upset

Real Madrid head to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday with their second-place finish in La Liga already in the bag, but a meeting with a confident Sevilla side carries far more weight than the table suggests.

The hosts arrive on the back of three straight league wins under Luis Garcia Plaza, while the capital club turn up in the middle of a public crisis, with Alvaro Arbeloa fighting for his future and Jose Mourinho the heavy favourite to take charge this summer.

For Nigerian fans, the focus is squarely on two Super Eagles in Sevilla colours.

Akor Adams has been one of the few constants in an otherwise messy Sevilla campaign and currently leads the club’s La Liga scoring charts with 10 goals and three assists.

The Kogi-born striker has saved his sharpest form for the run-in, finding the net three times in his last six top-flight outings, including the winning penalty in a 2-1 home victory over Atletico Madrid in April.

He average a goal every 195 minutes, placing him in the top tier of the division’s centre forwards.

Chidera Ejuke has had a quieter time of it, registering one goal and one assist in 25 league appearances for an average FotMob rating of 6.7.

The right winger’s most telling cameo of recent weeks came in the 1-0 win over Real Sociedad on 4 May, when he came off the bench and earned a 7.7 match rating in 89 productive minutes.

Ejuke remains one of Sevilla’s most direct dribblers, with WhoScored grading him as “very strong” in one-versus-one situations, and he will fancy his chances of inflicting some damage if used in transition against an aging Real Madrid full-back pair.

Match preview

Luis Garcia Plaza was appointed Sevilla head coach on 24 March, replacing Matias Almeyda with the Andalusian club perched just three points above the drop zone, and his arrival has reshaped the season.

Sevilla have won four of their last six La Liga games to climb up to 12th on 43 points, leaving them four points clear of the relegation places with two matches left to play.

The Andalusians come into matchday 37 on the back of three consecutive league wins, defeating Real Sociedad 1-0 at home, Espanyol 2-1, and Villarreal 3-2 away at the Estadio de la Ceramica last weekend.

Mathematically, La Segunda remains a faint possibility, but a victory or a draw on Sunday would all but seal another top-flight season at the Sanchez Pizjuan.

Their home record has been mediocre across the campaign though, with 25 points from 18 home matches leaving them with only the 14th-best home return in La Liga this season.

Real Madrid, by contrast, boast the second-best away record in the division, taking 34 points from 18 outings on the road.

⚽ Real Madrid prepares the match against Seville. pic.twitter.com/7b4N4dIIaR

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 15, 2026

Los Blancos are confirmed as runners-up on 80 points, 11 clear of third-placed Villarreal and short of newly crowned champions Barcelona at the top.

The story behind those numbers is far less flattering than the position suggests, with Xabi Alonso sacked in mid-January after a poor sequence and Arbeloa promoted from Real Madrid Castilla to take temporary charge.

A 2-0 home defeat by Barcelona on 10 May officially ended any title hopes, and although Arbeloa’s side responded with a 1-0 win over Real Oviedo at the Bernabeu in midweek, the atmosphere around the club remains tense.

Kylian Mbappe was booed by sections of the home support when he came on as a substitute against Oviedo, and the France captain pointedly complained afterwards about being treated as the squad’s “fourth-choice forward”.

For all the noise, Sevilla still have an outside shot at a European place, sitting five points behind seventh-placed Getafe, which would represent a dramatic turnaround from the wreckage of February.

Head-to-head

Recent history between these clubs reads less like a rivalry and more like a one-way procession.

Sevilla have not beaten Real Madrid in any of their last 14 meetings in all competitions, losing 12 of those games in the process.

Los Blancos have, in fact, been unbeaten against Sevilla in every fixture played between the sides since 2018, picking up four straight wins in their last four encounters.

The reverse fixture this season was a 2-0 win for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on 20 December.

Jude Bellingham headed Rodrygo’s cross past Odysseas Vlachodimos in the 38th minute to break the deadlock, before Mbappe converted from the spot in the 86th minute to equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s club record of 59 goals in a single calendar year.

That night also produced a sending off that still bites, with Marcao receiving a second yellow card on 68 minutes for fouling Bellingham, an absence Sevilla will feel again on Sunday given the Brazilian defender remains sidelined with a foot injury.

The last time Sevilla recorded a win over Real Madrid at the Sanchez Pizjuan came back in 2018, and the overall league record between the clubs strongly favours the visitors.

Real Madrid have won 8 of the last 10 meetings between the two sides, with the other two games ending in draws.

Team News: Akor Adams to Lead Sevilla’s Line, Mbappe Back in XI

Garcia Plaza is without Marcao for the rest of the campaign through a foot problem, and Manu Bueno is also sidelined with a muscle injury.

Isaac Romero faces a late fitness test, with his availability still in doubt.

Sevilla were excellent in their win at Villarreal, so most of that starting XI is expected to keep their places, although there could be one or two tweaks with Andres Castrin pushing for a recall in central defence alongside Nemanja Gudelj.

Adams is certain to lead the line and will be chasing his 11th La Liga goal of the campaign, with Neal Maupay likely to start alongside him after impressing in the closing weeks.

Winning goal v Espanyol (90+1') 🔥
Winning goal v Villarreal (72') 😍

What a week for Akor Adams! 🇳🇬🦅 pic.twitter.com/EitZ5gYuzW

— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) May 15, 2026

Ruben Vargas and Oso are nailed-on starters in the wide areas, while Ejuke is most likely to feature off the bench as an impact option.

Lucien Agoume returns from his suspension to bolster a midfield that has looked tidier under Garcia Plaza.

For Real Madrid, the injury list reads like a casualty report.

Rodrygo is a long-term absentee with a knee complaint, Arda Guler has a hamstring problem, Eder Militao is unavailable with his own hamstring issue, Ferland Mendy is sidelined with a thigh injury, and Federico Valverde is missing because of a head injury sustained against Barcelona.

Dean Huijsen and Andriy Lunin both face late checks after missing the Oviedo win through illness..

Antonio Rudiger is expected to return to the starting line-up, with Bellingham, Fran Garcia and Thiago Pitarch all set for recalls after being rotated out at the Bernabeu in midweek.

Mbappe is expected to start in attack despite his recent grievances, and the Frenchman tops the La Liga scoring charts on 24 goals.

Predicted Sevilla XI (4-4-2): Vlachodimos; Carmona, Castrin, Salas, Suazo; Vargas, Gudelj, Agoume, Oso; Adams, Maupay

Predicted Real Madrid XI (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Huijsen, Rudiger, Fran Garcia; Pitarch, Tchouameni; Brahim, Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Mbappe

Star player comparison

Star player comparison

Mbappe is in another statistical galaxy, having outscored his expected goals figure by close to 10, which speaks to the kind of finishing that ought to terrify a Sevilla defence without Marcao.

Adams, however, has been more clinical per chance, with a shooting accuracy of 50 per cent edging out Mbappe and a higher non-penalty xG per 90 minutes than most strikers in the division.

The Managers

Luis Garcia Plaza, 53, has been the calming voice Sevilla badly needed.

The Madrid-born coach has 229 La Liga matches on his CV from stops at Levante, Getafe, Villarreal, Mallorca and Alaves, averaging 1.12 points per game in the division.

He took the Sevilla job on a contract running until June 2027 with a clear brief to keep the club in the top flight, and a strong recent run has put survival within touching distance.

His preferred shape is 4-2-3-1, although he has shown flexibility with personnel given Sevilla’s injury issues.

Alvaro Arbeloa, 43, is in a very different place.

The former Real Madrid right-back was promoted from Castilla to the senior job in January after Xabi Alonso departed by mutual agreement, following defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.

Arbeloa started in dream fashion, winning his first five La Liga games to fall just two short of equalling Vanderlei Luxemburgo’s club record for the best start by a Real Madrid coach.

The honeymoon period is long gone, with a fractured dressing room, the public spat with Mbappe and the constant noise around Mourinho’s return all wearing him down.

His preferred 4-3-3 has had to morph into a 4-2-3-1 in recent weeks given the injuries to Valverde, Guler and Rodrygo.

Tactical preview

Sevilla’s most likely shape is the 4-4-2 they used to such good effect at Villarreal, with Vargas and Oso providing width and the front pairing of Adams and Maupay stretching defences vertically.

Garcia Plaza has had his side pressing higher in midfield in recent weeks, but expect them to drop into a mid-block once Real Madrid have settled possession.

The plan will be clear: stay compact, force Madrid wide, and break in numbers behind a high line through Adams and the running of Vargas.

Real Madrid under Arbeloa typically build out through Tchouameni and Pitarch, with Bellingham operating in a free number 10 role behind Mbappe.

Vinicius Junior and Brahim Diaz are expected to provide width on either side, with Trent Alexander-Arnold offering an attacking outlet from right-back.

Mbappe drifting wide-left has been a feature of Madrid’s attacking patterns this season, particularly when Vinicius cuts inside, and that diagonal movement could pull Castrin and Salas out of their natural positions.

The big tactical question for Garcia Plaza is whether to commit numbers forward and try to suffocate Real Madrid, or stay deep and live off the counter.

Given the visitors’ defensive frailties and Sevilla’s home crowd, a more proactive setup looks likelier, although the gulf in technical quality between the squads still tilts the open play in Real Madrid’s favour.

One real area of weakness for the visitors is at full-back, where Alexander-Arnold’s defensive positioning has been targeted all season, and Vargas attacking that flank with Maupay drifting wide could create overloads.

Betting Tips and Predictions

Final Score Prediction

Final score prediction

This is a fixture where the form book and the history book point in opposite directions, but the head-to-head is too one-sided to overlook.

Sevilla will get on the scoresheet through Adams or a moment of magic from Vargas, but Real Madrid have the away record, the firepower and the H2H stranglehold to leave Andalusia with a 12th win in 14 against Los Nervionenses.