by Jason Green of Predictem.com
Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla Camp Nou, Barcelona Spain 3:30 PM EST Wednesday May 18, 2010
Match Odds: Atletico Madrid 2.65 / Sevilla 2.55 / Draw 3.25
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
Moneyline: Atletico Madrid +180 / Sevilla +140 / Draw +225
In the last match of the Spanish season Atletico Madrid faces Sevilla in the Copa Del Rey final. Atletico Madrid is coming off a high, as even though they only finished 9th in Spain’s La Liga standings they won the Europa League final and will have an automatic berth to next season Champions League draw. That high may have cost them in their last match getting blanked at home 3-0 in the La Liga finale.
Sevilla had high hopes coming into this season and even though they finished a respectable 4th in La Liga there were nowhere near challenging Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, they qualified for the Champions League by winning their last match and they can add to their trophy case if they can win this match. They have shown they can beat any team, as they were the ones that knocked off La Liga and defending Champions League winner Barcelona out of this competition.
Atletico Madrid started the La Liga season terribly before changing head coaches and climbing their way up the league table. They won the Europa League final last week and on Wednesday night look to win their 10th Copa Del Rey trophy.
These two teams split the 2 matches they played this season, as each team one on their home field. They played in the beginning of this month and Sevilla won 3-1.
This season in La Liga Sevilla scored 65 goals and gave up 49 and Atletico Madrid scored 57 goals and gave up 61.
Sevilla Recent Form
5/15/2010 Almeria 2 Sevilla 3 (La Liga)
5/8/2010 Sevilla 2 Barcelona 3 (La Liga)
5/15/2010 Racing Santander 1 Sevilla 5 (La Liga)
5/2/2010 Sevilla 3 Atletico Madrid 1 (La Liga)
4/25/2010 Getafe 4 Sevilla 3 (La Liga)
Atletico Madrid Recent Form
5/15/2010 Atletico Madrid 0 Getafe 3 (La Liga)
5/12/2010 (Neutral Site) Fulham 1 Atletico Madrid 2 (Europa League)
5/8/2010 Sporting de Gijon 1 Atletico Madrid 1 (La Liga)
5/5/2010 Atletico Madrid 3 Valladolid 1 (La Liga)
5/2/2010 Sevilla 3 Atletico Madrid 1 (La Liga)
Sevilla has dealt with injuries all season long and they will be dealing with them for this match as well. Luis Fabiano, Federico Fazio, Fernando Navarro and Ivica Dragutinovic are all out for this match because of injuries and Alvaro Negredo is suspended and will not play.
Atletico Madrid rested most of their starters in the La Liga finale loss to Getafe and will relatively have a full squad. Borja and G Sergio Asenjo will both miss this match due to injury, but other than that Madrid is pretty healthy.
Atletico Madrid has had major issues on defense all season, which is the main reason they allowed more goals then they scored this season. Sevilla has a solid offense and they will take advantage of Madrid’s defensive shortcomings. They have scored 11 goals in their last 3 matches.
Atletico Madrid’s offense has been solid in the past month and they will be tough to stop. Diego Forlan led the squad with 18 goals during the season and was the hero scoring the game winner in extra time in the Europa League final and he will come through and score at least one goal in this match.
In their last 10 matches Atletico Madrid has an Over/Under 2.5 goals record of 9-1 and Sevilla has a record of 10-0.
Both teams have not had any problems scoring recently and this match may come down to which squad can play some defense.
Jason’s Pick: Atletico Madrid did recently win the Europa League title, but Sevilla is a better squad and there offense is a dynamic one. They will come out attacking from the opening whistle and I think they will take the early lead and never give it up. Sevilla will win this match by a score of 3-1 or 3-2 and win the Copa Del Rey ending their season on a high note.