Sevilla will hope to overcome their Copa del Rey elimination woes on Saturday when they play Elche in La Liga at the Estadio Martinez Valero.
With just one win in their last 19 league games, the likeliness of 19th-placed Elche playing Segunda Division football next season is becoming more and more probable. Three points this weekend is a must for returning Elche boss Fran Escriba.
Match preview
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From the outset, things do not look promising for Elche. Not only are Sevilla one of the most in-form sides in the division, but Elche's record against the La Liga heavyweights is far from inspiring.
Los Franjiverdes have not won any of their last 10 league matches against Sevilla, including four games when Escriba was last at the club.
However, La Liga is nothing if not surprising and Sevilla have had a particularly tough week. A shock win for Elche would be the first time since 2015 that the club have won back-to-back home games.
Last time out in the league, Elche were outperformed by Granada in a match that ended 2-1 to the Andalusians.
Ambivalent after the match, Escriba told the press: "Sometimes you win these games and sometimes you lose them." If the Valencian coach is serious about the club's survival, his side will have to start winning a lot more than they are losing.
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It often appears absurd how quickly things can change in football. Prior to last weekend, Julen Lopetegui's Sevilla were playing without any limitations and the sky was the limit.
This weekend, Lopetegui's men will be looking to get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats at the hands of Barcelona in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
The Andalusian side's 2-0 loss to Barca last weekend in the league was bettered only by the 3-0 drubbing they received in their midweek Copa semi-final 2nd leg.
Still, all is not lost for this Sevilla side who have performed spectacularly in the latter stages of this campaign. One league loss after six back-to-back victories is not a bad record at all.
In fact, if Sevilla come away with all three points on Saturday, it would be the first time in the club's history that the team has won four league away games on the bounce in the same season.
Elche La Liga form: LDLWLL
Sevilla La Liga form: WWWWWL
Sevilla form (all competitions): WWLWLL
Team News
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Despite the fixtures coming thick and fast for Sevilla, Lopetegui has managed to keep his squad both lean and healthy.
The only absentee for Lopetegui coming into this tie is Aleix Vidal, who is unavailable due to a hamstring injury.
Likewise, Escriba also has a largely fit squad to choose from ahead of this tie.
Emiliano Rigoni is the only member of his side unavailable as he is nursing a hamstring injury.
Elche possible starting lineup:
Badia; Barragan, Gonzalo, Calvo, Mojica; Morente, Guti, Marcone, Fidel; Boye, Carrillo
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bono; Vidal, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Jordan, Rakitic, Oliver; Gomez, En-Nesyri, Ocampos
We say: Elche 0-1 Sevilla
Sevilla have had a big hiccup this week and it could be difficult for them to dust themselves off, especially when Elche will likely come out fighting for their lives. Regardless of the circumstances, we think Sevilla will come away with the points from this one.
Top tip
Francis Buchanan
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 67.1%. A draw had a probability of 20.6% and a win for Elche had a probability of 12.29%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 0-1 with a probability of 14.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (13.65%) and 1-2 (9.33%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.63%), while for a Elche win it was 1-0 (4.97%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 3.3% likelihood.
