Sevilla will look to stretch their league unbeaten run to six games on Saturday, when they play host to Alaves.
After an impressive start to the season, the hosts sit third in the La Liga table, while their visitors have climbed off the foot thanks to an upturn in form of their own.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having stayed in the title race for the majority of last campaign, Sevilla will have headed into the new La Liga term with high hopes, and they have impressed so far.
Julen Lopetegui's men immediately established themselves in the top six with four wins and 14 points from their opening six outings, before they were handed their first defeat of the season by Granada.
Los Nervionenses bounced back instantly though, defeating Celta Vigo 1-0 and Levante 5-3 either side of a Champions League draw with French champions Lille.
They have now stretched their league unbeaten run to five games since that singular defeat, as they recorded consecutive 2-0 victories over Osasuna and Real Betis heading into the recent international break, with a Marcos Acuna finish and a Hector Bellerin own goal making the difference in the latter.
Now just one point behind league leaders Real Sociedad with a game in hand, Lopetegui's men will look to make it three wins on the bounce on Saturday to further improve their standing at the top of the division.
They face a tough task though, as a resurgent Alaves side arrive looking to go five games unbeaten.
© Reuters
Saturday's visitors had to endure a poor start to the domestic campaign, as they lost each of their first five outings to sit at the foot of the division.
El Glorioso's first victory came from the most unlikely of places, as they defeated defending champions Atletico Madrid 1-0 at home thanks to Victor Laguardia's early strike.
While that did not seem to correct their long-term form, with two more defeats following, Javier Calleja's men now appear to have hit their stride, having picked up 10 of 12 possible points from the last four games.
After consecutive wins over Cadiz and Elche, keeping two clean sheets in the process, El Glorioso held La Liga giants Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou, before returning to winning ways against Levante last time out.
They trailed 1-0 with 15 minutes to go, but a Joselu brace, including a 91st-minute winner, turned the game on its head and saw his side climb to 14th.
Despite a tough prospect against one of the league's standout sides, Calleja's men will definitely make the trip with renewed confidence as they look to continue their improvement and climb further away from the drop zone.
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Sevilla come into the game without star forward Youssef En-Nesyri, who is expected to miss out until the new year, with summer signing Rafa Mir set to lead the line in his absence.
Right-back Jesus Navas should be the only other absentee, with Argentina international Gonzalo Montiel providing cover in the back four on the opposite side to compatriot Marcos Acuna.
There is competition for attacking spots, with the likes of Suso, Alejandro Gomez, Erik Lamela and Lucas Ocampos battling for spots on the flanks, while the midfield unit of Joan Jordan, Fernando and Ivan Rakitic should remain unchanged.
The Alaves line will be led by key striker Joselu, who took his tally to five league strikes for the season in the comeback win over Levante.
Calleja stuck with a back four for the trip to Barcelona, and Victor Laguardia and Florian Lejeune could again partner up at the heart of the defence.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Montiel, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Rakitic, Fernando, Jordan; Ocampos, Mir, Suso
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Aguirregabiria, Laguardia, Lejeune, Duarte; Moya, Loum, Pons; Pellistri, Joselu, Rioja
We say: Sevilla 2-1 Alaves
While Alaves have shown major improvements recently and will be a tough proposition for any side, they face a formidable Sevilla outfit.
We ultimately see the hosts standing strong to earn a hard-fought three-point haul on home turf.
Top tip
Sam Varley
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 72.58%. A draw had a probability of 18.2% and a win for Alaves had a probability of 9.25%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 2-0 with a probability of 14.85%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (14.09%) and 3-0 (10.43%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.42%), while for an Alaves win it was 0-1 (4%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 2.7% likelihood.
