Sevilla will be looking to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they continue their domestic campaign away to Getafe on Saturday afternoon.
Julen Lopetegui's side lost at home to Real Madrid last weekend to drop to sixth position in the table, while Getafe currently occupy 15th, having struggled for consistency this term.
Match preview
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Getafe have finished eighth, fifth and eighth in their last three seasons in La Liga, but the capital side have not looked like potential challengers for a Europa League finish in the opening months of the 2020-21 campaign.
A record of three wins, four draws and four defeats from 11 matches has left Jose Bordalas's side in 15th position in the table, just two points outside of the relegation zone.
Getafe are actually without a victory in the league since overcoming Barcelona on October 17, losing three of their last six matches, including a 3-0 defeat away to Levante last weekend.
The Madrid club are only three points behind sixth-placed Sevilla ahead of Saturday's clash, though, and would certainly propel themselves up the division with a victory against the Europa League holders.
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Sevilla, as mentioned, suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Real Madrid last weekend, which actually ended a three-game winning run in Spain's top flight between November 7 and November 28.
Lopetegui's side returned to winning ways in the Champions League on Tuesday night as they overcame Rennes in their final group match; the victory was not enough to secure first position in Group E, but the Spanish giants have qualified for the last-16 stage of the European Cup.
Sevilla will now be determined to address their league form, and a return of 16 points from 10 matches has left them in sixth position in the table, four points behind fourth-placed Real Madrid with a game in hand.
The fact that Los Nervionenses have lost four of their 10 league matches this season means that it has been a disappointing start, but they have games in hand over the majority of the sides both above and around them and will be looking to move up the division before the end of 2020.
Sevilla won both matches against Getafe last season with an aggregate score of 5-0, but they suffered a 3-0 defeat to the capital side when they made the trip to Coliseum Alfonso Perez during the 2018-19 campaign.
Getafe La Liga form: LDLDDL
Sevilla La Liga form: LLWWWL
Sevilla form (all competitions): WWWLLW
Team News
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Getafe had both Chema Rodriguez and Djene Dakonam sent off in their 3-0 defeat at Levante last time out, and the pair will be suspended on Saturday afternoon.
Jaime Mata is also banned due to the yellow card that he picked up in the same match, meaning that head coach Bordalas will have to make alterations.
Nemanja Maksimovic and Xabier Etxeita are expected to be handed starting roles, while Cucho Hernandez could switch from a wide position to join Angel in attack, with Damian Suarez likely to shake off a hamstring issue to feature at right-back.
As for Sevilla, Sergio Escudero, Munir El Haddadi and Tomas Vaclik are all injured, while Marcos Acuna faces a late fitness test with Karim Rekik on standby to play at left-back.
Jesus Navas and Sergi Gomez have both been passed fit, and the former should come into the starting XI on Saturday, having not been involved against Rennes in the Champions League.
Lucas Ocampos, Fernando and Luuk de Jong should also return to the starting side, but Suso is expected to be preferred to Oliver Torres in the final third of the field.
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Cabaco, Etxeita, Olivera; Nyom, Maksimovic, Arambarri, Cucurella; Rodriguez, Angel
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Jordan, Fernando, Rakitic; Suso, L de Jong, Ocampos
We say: Getafe 0-1 Sevilla
Getafe will be missing three key players this weekend, and it is difficult to back the hosts to pick up a positive result due to their recent struggles. Sevilla will be keen to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight, and we fancy Lopetegui's side to edge a tight match in the Spanish capital.
Top betting tip
Matt Law
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 52.15%. A draw had a probability of 26.5% and a win for Getafe had a probability of 21.34%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 0-1 with a probability of 14.64%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.77%) and 1-2 (9.01%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.23%), while for a Getafe win it was 1-0 (8.32%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 14.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Sevilla in this match.
