Sevilla will be looking to keep themselves in the race for the La Liga title when they continue their domestic campaign at home to Granada on Sunday evening.
Julen Lopetegui's side are currently fourth in the table, six points off leaders Atletico Madrid, while Granada occupy eighth position, seven points behind seventh-placed Villarreal.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sevilla are still huge outsiders for the La Liga title, but the fact that they are even being spoken about as potential candidates for the trophy is an indication of their form in recent weeks.
Lopetegui's team, as mentioned, currently sit fourth in the table, just a point behind third-placed Barcelona, while they are six points from leaders Atletico on the same number of games (32).
The Europa League holders made it four straight league victories on Wednesday evening as Youssef En-Nesyri's second-half effort proved enough to overcome Levante in Valencia.
Sevilla have won six of their last seven in Spain's top flight, meanwhile, and will be eyeing victories in their next two matches with Granada and Athletic Bilbao before a trip to the champions Real Madrid on May 9.
Los Nervionenses have been impressive on home soil this season, winning 11 of their 15 La Liga matches, collecting 34 points in the process, and they will fancy their chances of triumphing on Sunday evening.
© Reuters
Granada, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 4-1 win over Eibar on Thursday evening, with veteran striker Roberto Soldado scoring twice in an impressive performance from the home side.
Diego Martinez's team, who were recently knocked out of the Europa League by Manchester United, have actually now won their last two in the league, recording a 2-1 victory at Real Valladolid in their last away game.
A record of 12 wins, six draws and 13 defeats from 31 matches has left them in eighth position, two points clear of ninth-placed Osasuna and seven off seventh-placed Villarreal, who have played a game more.
Granada will certainly be eyeing another possible top-seven finish, which would represent an excellent campaign for the club, who were only promoted back to this level in 2018-19.
Nazaries have found it difficult on their travels this term, though, winning just three of their 15 away fixtures in Spain's top flight, while they lost 2-0 in the corresponding match last term.
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Jules Kounde was forced off the field during Sevilla's clash with Levante on Wednesday evening, but the Frenchman is expected to recover in time for Sunday's fixture.
Sergi Gomez remains a slight doubt through injury, but the home side are otherwise in good shape, meaning that Lopetegui has plenty of options for change.
Ivan Rakitic could return to the starting XI in place of Papu Gomez, but there are not expected to be too many alterations elsewhere, with leading goalscorer En-Nesyri featuring in attack alongside Suso and Lucas Ocampos.
As for Granada, Neyder Lozano, Domingos Duarte and Luis Milla are all still injured, while Alberto Soro is unlikely to recover in time for this weekend's contest.
Soldado netted a brace against Eibar and should again feature in the final third, but there are expected to be changes from the side that started on Thursday due to the quick turnaround.
Indeed, Maxime Gonalons, Kenedy, Victor Diaz and Carlos Neva could all come into the starting XI, but there is unlikely to be a rest for either Antonio Puertas or Yangel Herrera.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Fernando, Rakitic, Jordan; Suso, En-Nesyri, Ocampos
Granada possible starting lineup:
Silva; Diaz, Vallejo, Sanchez, Neva; Montoro, Gonalons, Herrera; Puertas, Soldado, Kenedy
We say: Sevilla 1-0 Granada
Granada won 1-0 in the reverse match earlier this season, but it is very difficult to back anything other than a home win here. Sevilla will believe that they are in a title race at this stage of the campaign, and we fancy Lopetegui's side to collect another three points this weekend courtesy of a one-goal success.
Top 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 64%. A draw had a probability of 21.8% and a win for Granada had a probability of 14.18%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.92%) and 2-1 (9.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.23%), while for a Granada win it was 0-1 (5.53%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sevilla would win this match.
