Valencia vs Sevilla

Estadio de Mestalla forms the backdrop for an exciting La Liga contest between Valencia and Sevilla.

Valencia’s patchy form has seen their last six competitive results fluctuate between victories (3) and defeats (3), highlighting their topsy-turvy 2023/24 campaign. But they’re still in a far better position than they were at this stage of last season, commencing this round in ninth and with a goal difference of zero. Lapses of concentration in the latter stages returned to haunt ‘Los Che’ last weekend as they conceded twice beyond the 85th minute to lose 2-0 at Las Palmas, their second identical defeat across their three most recent La Liga fixtures (W1). That doesn’t bode well for Valencia’s bid to extend their impressive seven-match unbeaten league streak on home turf (W5, D2) against a downtrodden Sevilla side they last defeated in home league action in 2017.

Despite going unbeaten on their last five La Liga visits to Valencia (W2, D3) – all of which produced under 2.5 goals – Sevilla must keep their feet firmly on the ground amidst a humiliating league campaign. A glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel has appeared as they’ve stitched together back-to-back league wins for the first time in 2023/24 to open up a six-point gap on the bottom three. Manager Quique Sanchez Flores knows better than to take this trip for granted, even though his men have won twice on their last four La Liga travels (L2) after going winless in their first seven away league matches this season (D3, L4). Sevilla’s inability to bounce back from losing positions has seen them pick up just two points across seven La Liga trips after conceding the opening goal (D2, L5), highlighting the significance of a fast start.