A revitalised Sevilla will be bidding to make it three straight wins in La Liga when they head to Mestalla on Saturday evening for an intriguing contest with Valencia.
The visitors will enter the match off the back of a 1-0 success over Atletico Madrid, while Valencia suffered a 2-0 defeat to Las Palmas in their last game in Spain's top flight.
Match preview
© Reuters
Valencia finished 16th in Spain's top flight last season, which proved to be their joint-worst final position in La Liga since being relegated to the Segunda Division in 1986.
As a result, there was plenty of room for improvement this term, and Los Che have a record of 10 wins, five draws and nine defeats from their 24 league games in 2023-24 to collect 35 points, which has left them in ninth position in the table.
Ruben Baraja's side have been excellent at home of late, winning five and drawing two of their last seven league matches at Mestalla, while they have not lost at home in La Liga since the end of September.
Valencia have lost their last two on their travels, though, including a 2-0 reverse to Las Palmas last time out, which contributed to them dropping down into ninth spot in the division.
Los Che will be looking to do the league double over Sevilla for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign, having recorded a 2-1 victory when the pair locked horns in the reverse game back in August.
© Reuters
Sevilla will enter this match off the back of successive league victories, winning 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano on February 5 before beating Atletico 1-0 at Estadio Ramon last time out.
The two huge results have seen Quique Sanchez Flores's side move into 15th position in the table, now on 23 points, which has left them six points ahead of the bottom three.
Relegation for Sevilla this season would be catastrophic, but the last two wins have given them serious breathing space, and they are now only four points behind 12th-placed Alaves so should be looking up the table rather than down considering the quality in their squad.
Los Nervionenses, who finished 12th in La Liga last season, have struggled on their travels this season, only picking up nine points from their 11 matches away from their own supporters.
Sevilla did manage to record a 2-0 victory over Valencia in the corresponding match last term, though, and they will be bidding to record what would be a huge sixth league win of the campaign.
Team News
© Reuters
Valencia will be missing Thierry Correia and Andre Almeida due to injury problems, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape for the clash with Sevilla.
Diego Lopez could be back in the squad after a muscular problem, while Sergi Canos is pushing to be introduced in a wide area for the home side.
Hugo Duro has been in strong scoring form this season, finding the back of the net on 10 occasions in Spain's top flight, and he will continue in the final third of the field.
Sevilla still have a number of injury problems, with Lucien Agoume, Marcao, Tanguy Nianzou, Mariano Diaz, Kike Salas, Nemanja Gudelj and Dodi Lukebakio unavailable for selection.
Lucas Ocampos is expected to shake off a knock to start, though, and it could therefore be the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Atletico last time out.
Youssef En-Nesyri has formed a strong partnership with Isaac Romero in the final third of the field since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, and the pair should continue as the front two here.
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Mosquera, Ozkacar, Gaya; Canos, Guillamon, Pepelu, Guerra; Amallah, Duro
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Navas, Bade, Ramos, Acuna; Sow, Soumare, Torres, Ocampos; En-Nesyri, Romero
We say: Valencia 1-1 Sevilla
This has all the makings of a very interesting match, and it is a tough one to call. Valencia have been strong at home, but something has changed with Sevilla of late, and we can see the points being shared on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
