Sevilla are on the lookout for their first win of the season as they visit Alaves in the La Liga. Alaves lost their season opener at Cadiz 1-0. The visitors started their La Liga campaign last weekend with a 2-1 home defeat to Valencia.
Preview (Alaves vs Sevilla)
During the Segunda Division playoffs of the previous campaign, Alaves earned a return to Spain’s top division by defeating Levante in the final and Eibar in the semifinals. El Glorioso played in La Liga for six consecutive seasons. Alaves lost to Cadiz 1-0 in their league debut on Monday. Fede San Emeterio’s strike in the seventh minute separated the two teams. In the summer transfer window, Luis Garcia’s team was active, signing players like Antonio Blanco, Ander Guevara, and Andoni Gorosabel.
In the last two league matches between the two teams, Alaves actually managed to hold Sevilla to draws, including a scoreless draw in the equivalent matchup during the 2021–22 season. On August 11, Sevilla lost 2-1 against Valencia in their season opener. Youssef En-Nesyri had canceled out Mouctar Diakhaby’s opening goal at Estadio Ramon, but Javi Guerra had given Los Che the victory late in the game.
Man City prevailed 5-4 in the penalty shootout to decide the game. Loic Bade, Djibril Sow, and Adria Pedrosa are the three players Sevilla has added this summer. Bono, the goalkeeper, has left the club, joining Al-Hilal of the Saudi Pro League. Los Nervionenses had their worst La Liga finish since being demoted in 2000 last year, coming up at 12th place. They were still able to go to the Champions League by winning the Europa League.
Team News
Giuliano Simeone, a forward on loan from Atletico Madrid, will once again be unavailable to Alaves due to a significant ankle injury sustained during preseason. The home team is in good shape since there suffered no new injuries recorded during the previous match against Cadiz. However, there might be a change in the final third, with Kike Garcia perhaps replacing Miguel de la Fuente.
Due to fitness troubles, Ludwig Augustinsson and Tanguy Kouassi are also sidelined. The team did not experience any new problems against Man City in the UEFA Super Cup. While Bade’s absence may force Gonzalo Montiel into the back four and Suso is fighting to start, there won’t be a change at center-forward as the effective En-Nesyri is set to take the lead once more. Alaves has the ability to make this a very difficult game for Sevilla, but we are picking the visitors to win by a score of 3-1.
Alaves 1 – 2 Sevilla
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