Sevilla will be bidding to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they welcome Rayo Vallecano to Estadio Ramon on Saturday evening.
The home side have made an underwhelming start to the season, only picking up seven points from seven matches to sit down in 15th position in the La Liga table, while Rayo are up in eighth position, collecting 12 points from their first eight games of 2023-24.
Match preview
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Sevilla finished fourth in La Liga three times in a row between 2020 and 2022, but they were 12th last season and only qualified for the group stage of the Champions League by winning the Europa League.
Los Nervionenses have also struggled to really take off in La Liga this season, boasting a record of two wins, one draw and four defeats from their seven matches to collect seven points, which has left them down in 15th position in the table heading into the next set of fixtures.
Sevilla have only lost one of their last six matches in all competitions, though, which proved to be a 1-0 defat at Barcelona last Friday, with an own goal from Sergio Ramos deciding the clash with the champions.
Jose Luis Mendilibar's side were then in Champions League action on Tuesday evening, playing out a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, with the result leaving them third in Group B on two points.
Sevilla are actually winless in their last three league games with Rayo, and they suffered a 1-0 defeat to the capital outfit in the corresponding match during the 2022-23 campaign.
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Rayo, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Mallorca, with Radamel Falcao scoring a penalty in the 12th minute of added time at the end of the 90 to secure a share of the spoils.
Francisco's side will bring a four-game unbeaten run into this contest, but three of those matches have been draws, sharing the points in their last three with Villarreal, Cadiz and Mallorca.
A record of three wins, three draws and two defeats from eight matches this season has seen the capital outfit collect 12 points to sit in eighth position in the table.
Rayo have finished 12th and 11th in their last two campaigns at this level, and it would not be a surprise to see them in a similar spot come the end of the season.
Los Franjirrojos have only scored nine times in the league this term, which is a low number in relation to their position in the table, and the fact that Falcao is their only striker to score a La Liga goal this season is slightly concerning heading into a busy period before the end of the year.
Team News
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Sevilla will be missing four players through injury for this match, with Erik Lamela, Marcao, Tanguy Nianzou and Alfonso Pastor on the sidelines.
Youssef En-Nesyri returned from injury to score against PSV in the Champions League during the week, and the Morocco international is now expected to be brought back into the side in La Liga.
Juanlu Sanchez, Loic Bade and Joan Jordan could also be introduced following the European affair, while Oliver Torres is battling Suso to feature as the number 10 this weekend.
As for Rayo, Randy Nteka remains unavailable for selection due to a muscular problem, with the attacker likely to be absent until the end of the month.
The visitors will be able to recall Khalid Abdul Mumin, though, as the defender has served the suspension that saw him ruled out of the clash with Mallorca last time out.
Falcao came off the bench to score against Mallorca, but he is unlikely to be considered for a start, with Sergio Camello again likely to be given the nod in the final third of the field.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Juanlu, Bade, Ramos, Pedrosa; Jordan, Sow; Ocampos, O Torres, Lukebakio; En-Nesyri
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Balliu, Mumin, Lejeune, Espino; U Lopez, Ciss; Palazon, Perez, A Garcia; Camello
We say: Sevilla 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
Sevilla are struggling to win at the moment, but they are not losing many, and there is certainly enough quality in the squad for the team to rise up the table in the coming weeks. Rayo will be the fresher of the two sides, but we are expecting the hosts to navigate their way to an important win here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
