Sevilla will host Alaves on Friday in the La Liga. This season, the home team has once again struggled. They have managing just 16 points from 19 games to land them in 16th place in the standings. Alaves, on the other hand, have 17 points from their first 19 games and are in 15th place. Both teams are perilously near the bottom three.
Preview (Sevilla vs. Alaves)
After José Luis Mendilibar and Diego Alonso were fired this season, Sevilla is now led by their third permanent manager of the year, Quico Sanchez Flores, who was named on December 18. In his four games in charge, the 58-year-old has achieved two victories and two losses. The most recent victory came last time out when Sevilla defeated Racing Ferrol 2-1 to guarantee their place in the Copa del Rey final 16. In addition, Sanchez Flores triumphed in his first La Liga game in charge on December 19, defeating Granada 3-0. However, the team has already dropped its past two games in Spain’s top division. They lost to Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid.
After another dismal season, Los Nervionenses led 18th-place Cadiz by just one point. They have only won three league games. Last season, Sevilla finished in 12th place. It was their lowest finish since they were demoted at the end of the 1999–2000 campaign. This year has been extremely challenging, as the team is completely different from the one that placed fourth in three of the previous four campaigns. As previously indicated, Alaves sits in 15th place in the table, just above Sevilla. They have a record of four victories, five draws, and ten losses from their 19 games played.
Luis Garcia’s team has had a successful start to 2024. They defeated Real Betis 1-0 in the Copa del Rey round of 32. Then they drew 1-1 away from home against Real Sociedad in their most recent league game. In addition, Alaves has defeated Sevilla in all three of their previous meetings in the top division.
Team News
Due to their recent string of serious injuries, Sevilla will once more be missing several key players for this match. Dodi Lukebakio, Joan Jordan, Jesus Navas, Erik Lamela, and Orjan Nyland are all strong candidates. Nemanja Gudelj, Mario Diaz, Alfonso Pastor, and Mario Acuna are all out. Yassef En-Nesyri, who is scheduled to play for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations, will also be absent for Sevilla. As a result, Rafael Mir and Lucas Ocampos may play in the last third of the field, like they did in the most recent Copa del Rey match against Racing Ferrol.
Alaves’ Jon Guridi and Alexander Sedlar are out due to injury, while like En-Nesyri, Abdul Abqar is playing for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations. Giuliano Simeone, an Atletico Madrid forward on loan, has played in the team’s last two games after recovering from a catastrophic ankle injury. He should start this game off the bench. Antonio Blanco, Samu Omorodion, and Antonio Gorosabel are among the players expected to return to the starting lineup from the Copa del Rey starting lineup. Rafael Marin, the center-back on loan from Real Madrid, should recover from an injury to play in the middle of the defense.
Sevilla 2-1 Alaves
For more football previews, click here
