Real Madrid got their confidence boost on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Pachuca to take home the Intercontinental Cup, as Kylian Mbappe shined in his tune-up game after returning from a hamstring injury he suffered last week against Atalanta.
So far in December, Real Madrid have lost just one game, to Athletic Club, but after dropping more points against Rayo Vallecano, Los Blancos now have to worry just as much about Atletico Madrid ripping the title from them as they do a suddenly struggling Barcelona.
This coming Sunday, Real Madrid will face one of LaLiga’s historic clubs in Sevilla, who have steadily improved since a rough start to the season and are very capable of costing the Merengue club points as well.
Here are three key matchups that could decide Matchday 18 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
LB Fran Garcia vs. FW Dodi Lukebakio
Dodi Lukebakio is clearly the biggest attacking threat on Sevilla with seven goals, nearly as precious of a curler as long-time Sevilla standout Suso when he’s in the mood, and silky skills on the ball that have enabled him to average 2.5 dribbles completed and 1.4 fouls drawn per game this season.
Belgium’s most underrated attacker should draw plenty of one-on-one matchups against Fran Garcia, a left back who has struggled frequently in one-on-one situations this season, including last weekend against his old club Rayo Vallecano.
Fran had a much better performance on Wednesday in Qatar, but that was against lowly Pachuca. Lukebakio can actually hurt him with his speed, explosiveness, and goal threat when cutting inside.
Real Madrid need to see Fran actually put together a complete defensive performance at left back against a quality opponent in LaLiga, and Lukebakio is legitimately one of the best left-footed, goal-scoring threats from the right side of the attack.
LW Kylian Mbappe vs. CB Loic Bade
It hasn’t been an idyllic start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu for Kylian Mbappe but to call him a flop would be both an exaggeration of his struggles and an indication that the speaker is unfamiliar with the flops of yesteryear whom Mbappe has quite literally already surpassed despite only operating at half speed.
Mbappe has scored in each of his last two matchips, shining in the early minutes against Atalanta before leaving with an injury and later combining with Vinicius Junior to dismantle Pachuca’s “defense” in the Intercontinental Cup Final.
With 9 goals in 15 LaLiga games, Mbappe is contributing in the final third despite missing a copious number of chances, and his average of 2.5 dribbles completed per game isn’t all that far behind Vini Jr.’s tally of 2.8.
On Sunday, Mbappe will go up against one of the best center backs in LaLiga and a player who certainly deserves substantially more transfer interest from Europe’s elite as the best-kept secret at his position, in spite of the fact that his performance in the 2022/23 Europa League for champions Sevilla shouldn’t have been so grotesquely overlooked.
Bade is a consistent and intelligent defender who is entering his prime at the age of 24 and the bedrock of this Sevilla side. He has the ability to read forwards like a comic book, and Mbappe is going to have to be at his sharpest with his touches and initial body positioning when he receives the ball in order to make sure he has a sufficient volume of chances to put one in the back of the net in what is usually a gritty fixture.
With no Vinicius Jr., more will be expected of Mbappe, and if he can’t get the better of Bade and prove he is a superstar after two encouraging performances outside LaLiga, we can expect to hear Mbappe criticism ad nauseam over the next two weeks.
CM Luka Modric vs. CM Saul
Two old legends of LaLiga look set to duke it out on Sunday at the Bernabeu, as Luka Modric is expected to make the Real Madrid starting XI for the second straight league game before the Christmas break.
On the other side of the coin, Sevilla will field Saul, the former Atletico Madrid monster whose career took a nosedive after an ill-advised move to Chelsea. Now, he has resuscitated his value as the resident veteran playmaker in Seville, matching Modric’s three assists while averaging 1.3 key passes per game.
Saul is a key player for the Nervionenses, shuttling the ball on the flank, busting up plays defensively, and popping up at the right times to find the bit of quality his team needs to break the deadlock.
Basically, at 30, Saul is the same player he was a handful of years ago in the Spanish capital and back to being a real asset in LaLiga, which makes this matchup against Modric all the more enticing.
This will be a battle of work rate, control, chance creation, and veteran guile. These two midfield generals and greats of Spanish football will duel just as much off the ball with their minds as they will with their feet, and the player who can, by proxy, lead his team to take up the more valuable positions in this tense battle for control will very likely be the one to have his hand raised after 90 minutes.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.