Sevilla come into this one off the back of a scrappy 2-1 friendly win over Ceuta — a side several divisions below them. That result tells you everything about where they are right now: grinding, not gliding. Their recent league form has been patchy, with losses at Celta, Levante, and Real Oviedo, though they did manage a 3-2 win at Villarreal and a 2-1 home victory over Athletic back in January. They sit fourth after an opening-day win over Rayo Vallecano, but that was a dramatic late penalty, not a statement. The Pizjuán will be rocking, but this is a Sevilla side still searching for rhythm.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, are exactly what you'd expect under Diego Simeone: organised, nasty, and built for these exact fixtures. They opened their season with a home game against Málaga at the Metropolitano, and the machine is already humming. Julián Álvarez and Ademola Lookman are the front two — a pairing that can knife through any back line. Simeone's men are coming off a World Cup summer where their Argentine contingent went deep, and that winning mentality carries over. They're favourites here for a reason, and they know how to win ugly on the road.