Sevilla will welcome Valencia to The Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Wednesday, in a clash between sides in the top six of the La Liga table.
The hosts sit in sixth spot with eight points from their opening four games, while their visitors occupy third place and were handed their first defeat of the season last time out.
Match preview
© Reuters
After an impressive showing last season, eventually finishing in fourth place, two points behind Barcelona, after remaining in a title race for the majority of the campaign, Sevilla kicked off the new La Liga term with back-to-back victories over Rayo Vallecano and Getafe.
Julen Lopetegui's side kept clean sheets in both of those wins, while scoring three in the opener, largely thanks to an Erik Lamela brace off the bench, before he was the hero in the latter as he netted a 93rd-minute winner to seal a 1-0 victory.
Los Rojiblancos then drew 1-1 with Getafe, before playing out the same scoreline at home to Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League group stage, as each side netted a penalty in the first half while the visitors squandered two further opportunities from the spot.
Lopetegui's men now come into Wednesday's game on the back of their third straight draw, as they played out a goalless stalemate away at Real Sociedad on Sunday, with Mikel Oyarzabal failing to convert a penalty for the hosts, preserving their unbeaten record and seeing them remain in the top six.
In their bid to continue their commendable start, they meet a Valencia side who have enjoyed a strong run of form of their own.
© Reuters
Wednesday's visitors had a disappointing campaign last time around, eventually finishing 13th, but they have started the new term in impressive fashion.
Jose Bordalas's side began with a 1-0 victory over Getafe, before earning a creditable 1-1 draw away at Granada.
Los Murcielagos then recorded back-to-back dominant wins, firstly defeating Alaves 3-0 before Maxi Gomez, Goncalo Guedes and Omar Alderete got on the scoresheet alongside an Aridane Hernandez own goal in a 4-1 thrashing of Osasuna.
Despite looking set to defeat title-chasing Real Madrid 1-0 last time out, thanks to Hugo Duro's goal, Bordalas's men now come into Wednesday's game on the back of their first defeat of the season, as Vinicius Junior hit an 86th-minute equaliser and Karim Benzema snatched all three points for Los Blancos with a winner two minutes later.
They will look to quickly bounce back from that late disappointment with what would be an impressive result on their travels.
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Sevilla come into the game with a clean bill of health, and Lopetegui is unlikely to make wholesale changes.
Thomas Delaney came into the midfield trio in place of Joan Jordan last time out, and they should continue to battle for the final spot, with Ivan Rakitic and Fernando all but cementing themselves in the starting XI.
Marcos Acuna, Diego Carlos, Jules Kounde and Jesus Navas form an established back four, while Youssef En-Nesyri will continue to lead the line, leaving the spots on the flanks as some of the only places up for grabs.
Following his strong start after joining from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, Erik Lamela earned a starting spot last time out, with Alejandro Gomez operating on the other wing, while the likes of Suso and Lucas Ocampos will be pushing to break into the starting XI.
Valencia will remain without winger Denis Cheryshev and defender Cristiano Piccini, after the pair missed Sunday's clash with Real Madrid.
Goncalo Guedes and Maxi Gomez will continue to lead the line, while Carlos Soler and Hugo Duro offer plenty of threat from the wings.
Gabriel and Omar Alderete should continue to partner up at the heart of a back four, with Los Murcielagos having only conceded four goals in five league games.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bono; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Jordan, Fernando, Rakitic; Gomez, En-Nesyri, Ocampos
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Gabriel, Alderete, Foulquier; Soler, Wass, Guillamon, Duro; Guedes, Gomez
We say: Sevilla 1-1 Valencia
Both sides boast quality all over the pitch and have enjoyed strong starts to the season, and we do not see either team outclassing the other on Wednesday.
Having only conceded a combined tally of five goals in the league so far, we do not expect this to be an overly open affair, and instead opt for a low-scoring draw.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sevilla win with a probability of 63.97%. A draw had a probability of 22.1% and a win for Valencia had a probability of 13.88%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.64%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (13.28%) and 2-1 (9.33%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.29%), while for a Valencia win it was 0-1 (5.67%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 5.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sevilla would win this match.
