Real Madrid

After a 13-day international break, the League makes its return and Real Madrid will be hoping to prolong their good run of results that they have recorded recently. The Whites, who will sport their third kit today, which is green in colour, have notched up two wins on the spin beating Barcelona in the Super Cup (2-1) and thrashing Granada (3-0), and they now want to pick up third win in a row tonight. It will not be easy. Ramos and Callejón have already warned how tough a match this will be. “Playing in Seville is difficult, but we have to believe we can win no matter where we are playing”, said both players during the week. The Andalusian outfit remain undefeated in competitive games this season which shows how difficult the match will be, but Real Madrid, managed by Mourinho, have taken maximum points from their last three outings to the Sánchez Pizjuán. The match between Sevilla and Real Madrid kicks off at 10pm.

► ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REAL MADRID IN THE LIGA BBVA
Real Madrid face Sevilla in the first of three very tricky games to be played in barely eight days (on Tuesday, they kick of their Champions league campaign against Manchester City at home and on Sunday they will visit Vallecas for the match against Rayo). After beating Barcelona in the return leg of the Spanish Super Cup (2-1) and thrashing Granada in the last league meeting (3-0), Real Madrid now travel to Seville aiming to pick up their third win in a row.

POSITION OF BOTH TEAMS BEFORE THE START OF MATCH DAY 4
			HOME				AWAY
	Pos.	Points	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L
R. Madrid	9º	4	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	1
Sevilla	7º	5	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	0

The wait is over: league football makes its return after the break for international duty. This circumstance makes Real Madrid’s task even more complicated, but the Whites, who will play in green tonight, are more then used to these types of clashes. They are actually unbeaten in the five matches they have played immediately after an international break: Getafe (4-2), Betis (4-1), Valencia (2-3), Espanyol (5-0) and Valencia (1-1). Furthermore, since Mourinho became manager, Real Madrid have won on their last three visits to the Sánchez Pizjuán (0-1 in the Cup and a repeat score line of 2-6 in the other two league meetings) having lost five, drawn one and won one of their previous seven league games there.

►REAL MADRID’S SQUAD

Real Madrid’s players are aware of how difficult it will be to pick up maximum points. This has been pointed out by Sergio Ramos and Callejón during the week: “Playing in Seville is difficult, but this is Real Madrid and we have to believe we can win no matter where we are playing”. They will undoubtedly be helped along the way by the exceptional form shown by their team mates Higuaín and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentine, who scored in the last two matches for his country, is the only footballer in the league who has scored in the first three games of the season. The Portuguese, who has been on the score sheet in the last two Real Madrid games, has a special love affair with the Sánchez Pizjuán. With the exception of the Santiago Bernabéu, this is actually the ground at which he has scored most goals: seven in total.

Sevilla have won the two friendly games played during the international break
Seventh in the league table after picking up one win and two draws in the league, (Getafe, Granada and Rayo were the opponents), Sevilla are undefeated in competitive games this season and have taken advantage of the international break to play two friendly games. Míchel, who has had his full squad available except for Navas, Rakitic, Medel and Spahic, who were away on international duty, has had the opportunity to experiment further with his team. Last Thursday, they beat Mérida (0-3) and three days later, they defeated Flamurtari Vlora (1-2) in Albania.

HEAD-TO-HEAD IN THE LEAGUE BETWEEN SEVILLA AND REAL MADRID
	P	W	D	L	GF	GA
Real Madrid	136	71	26	39	287	187
Sevilla	136	39	26	71	187	287

Sevilla’s manager is not the only ex-Real Madrid player in the squad. Diego López, Reyes and Negredo are the other three. "Players are always motivated against a team like Real Madrid. That motivation and the atmosphere that will be created will help us to go for it from the start, but we must not lose sight of the fact that, although we are able to play well, we are facing a team which can pick you off from all angles", said Míchel, who also had praise for Mourinho, his professional counterpart and opponent tonight: “He is the single most important part of the team. He would be the biggest loss because he has changed the direction of the club in the last few years".