Real Madrid sent Dean Huijsen back into the starting XI for sevilla - real madrid, with Kylian Mbappé also returning to the lineup. The selection was published after the team left its hotel concentration in Seville, giving the match a clear availability note before kickoff.
Real Madrid XI at Sánchez-Pizjuán
Courtois started in goal behind Carvajal, Rüdiger, Huijsen and Fran García. Tchouaméni, Thiago and Bellingham filled the middle, while Brahim, Vinicius and Mbappé completed the front line.
Mbappé was back in the Real Madrid lineup, and Carvajal lined up at right back. For a side that named several regular starters, the main change was Huijsen’s return to the XI, a selection that kept Madrid close to its strongest available shape for the third matchday.
Sevilla’s response
Sevilla answered with Odysseas, Carmona, Castrín, Kike Salas, Suazo, Gudelj, Sow, Vargas, Oso, Akor and Maupay. That gave Luis García Plaza a team built around a familiar core at home, where Sevilla and Real Madrid have met 82 times in league play at the Sánchez-Pizjuán.
The history at Nervión is tight but not evenly open. Real Madrid won the first league match at Sevilla’s ground on 31 March 1935 by 1-3, and only one of those 82 league meetings ended 0-0, on 4 October 1981.
García Plaza and Madrid
García Plaza had faced Real Madrid in 16 official matches before this one and had won only two of them. One came with Getafe, a 2-1 LaLiga victory in the 2012-2013 season, and the other came with Levante in a 2-0 Copa del Rey win in 2010-2011.
That record left Sevilla with a coach who had found ways to beat Madrid before, even if rarely. With Huijsen back, Mbappé restored and Carvajal settled on the right side, Real Madrid went into the match with its lineup now set and its key names back in place.
