Heading into the final fifteen matches of the season, Real Madrid look on course to secure their 35th La Liga title.
Los Blancos currently lead the league by six points with current title holders Atletico Madrid and 26-time champions Barcelona failing to challenge this season.
However, one team that is still in contention is Sevilla who are currently six points adrift of Real. They boast the best defensive record in the league and have lost just twice in La Liga all season.
One of those defeats was away to their title-challenging rivals towards the end of November and the 87th-minute winner scored by Real Madrid’s Vini Jr. could prove to be one of the most important goals of the season for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Real are in great form having also lost just two league games this season. They boast the highest goalscoring record in the league this season and have the services of the top two La Liga goalscorers, Karim Benzema and Vini Jr.
Although Ancelotti has boosted his squad with the €30m signing of Eduardo Camavinga from Rennes and grabbing David Alaba on a free from Bayern Munich, Real Madrid transfers have been relatively quiet this season as they continue to perform well with the squad they have.
Sevilla’s hopes of a first league title since the 1946/47 season have taken a blow recently with Julen Lopetegui’s side only managing draws in their last three outings against Valencia, Celta Vigo and Osasuna. They’ve proven to be an extremely difficult team to beat this term but they need to pick up maximum points from the majority of their remaining fifteen matches if they are to claim their second ever La Liga title.
The most important of their remaining league matches will be when they host Real Madrid on the 17th of April. Depending on the results prior to that fixture, it’s likely that they’ll have to take away all three points from the game to stand a realistic chance of finishing top this season.
Bookies have Real Madrid as the strong favourites to clinch the title and are priced as low as 1/16 with some betting sites. That’s to be expected given their six-point lead and better goal difference but those odds could change quickly if they fail to pick up maximum points in the weeks ahead.
Real still have to play all teams from the top seven which include Sevilla, Real Betis, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and Real Sociedad. Every game going forward will be crucial to their title challenge and they will have to retain their consistency for the remainder of the season that has got them to this point now.
Sevilla are priced at 11/1 for the title as they head into their home match against Elche on Friday evening. It’s a game that they’ll be confident of winning given they have the home advantage as they remain unbeaten at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in the league this season.
If they beat Elche on Friday night, Sevilla will have the best home record in La Liga having picked up an impressive 30 points from a possible 36 this term. That stat will bode well for them, if they can maintain it, for when they host Real at home in two months time.
It’s not surprising to see Real Madrid leading the La Liga table given Atletico and Barca have failed to challenge this term. However, Sevilla are still a threat and the 2021/22 title could very well be decided in the final few games of the season.
