Will Sevilla remain unbeaten for the eleventh time?
Espanyol Barcelona get a high visit with Sevilla. The Andalusians are in second place and are the only serious challengers to the leaders from Madrid. Coach Julen Lopetegui’s team has not lost in the league since the end of November. Instead, they have recorded six wins and four draws since a defeat against the “royals”.
The home side, for their part, last drew with Barcelona in the Catalan derby. As a result, they are now in 2022 and have been waiting for their next three points for five league games. For the clash between Espanyol Barcelona and Sevilla, the betting tips are for a maximum of two goals.
Espanyol Barcelona – Statistics & current form
As mentioned, the “Blanquiazules” last scored a draw against city rivals FCB, but the draw felt like a defeat because the Xavi eleven’s equaliser only came in the final seconds of injury time.
In addition, Nico Melamed was sent off shortly before the final whistle, which means that the Spain U21 international will not be able to take his usual place in midfield.
Raul de Tomas continues to be unstoppable
Once again, however, Raul de Tomas performed reliably on the Periquitos’ side. The attacking player returned to the squad after a card suspension in the derby and once again proved his enormous scoring ability. The 27-year-old scored one of the two goals in the 2-2 draw and set up Sergi Darder’s other goal.
Thanks to his goal, de Tomas has now scored in five league games in a row. In addition, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema is the only player to top his season tally of 13 goals. In light of this, the odds on his next goal celebrations in the clash between Espanyol Barcelona and Sevilla are also a good idea.
Goals on both sides?
Coach Vicente Moreno, however, could once again not be satisfied with his defence: In the past five league games, they have always conceded at least two goals and in between also conceded in the 2-1 defeat against Mallorca in the Copa del Rey.
With this in mind, the odds on both sides scoring in the clash between Espanyol Barcelona and Sevilla also make sense.
Predicted line-up of Espanyol Barcelona:
Lopez – Gomez – Cabrera – Pedrosa – Vidal – Vilhena – Darder – Bare – Herrera – Puado – de Tomas
Last matches played by Espanyol Barcelona:
LaLiga
02/13 2022 – Espanyol 2 – 2 Barcelona
02/07 2022 – Athletic Bilbao 2 – 1 Espanyol
01/21 2022 – Espanyol 1 – 4 Real Betis
01/18 2022 – Cadiz 2 – 2 Espanyol
Copa del Rey
01/15 2022 – Mallorca 2 – 1 Espanyol
Sevilla – Statistics & current form
The visitors will be a little tired going into the encounter, having already been called upon this week in the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb in the round of sixteen. Sevilla recorded a 3-1 home win against the Croatians last Thursday night.
As mentioned at the beginning, last season’s fourth-placed team is also very stable in the league: the 1946 champions have not lost in ten rounds and the dream of a second title in the club’s history is still alive. The gap to Real Madrid, for example, is just four points.
Andalusian defence is a real bulwark
Sevilla’s successful season has been largely due to a very good defence. After 24 rounds of play, they have only conceded 16 goals! This proud record is the best in the league and away from home the defence is even more solid with only six goals conceded in a dozen away games.
Due to the strong defence and the offensive performance with ten goals in the twelve away games so far, Sevilla’s footballing trips are very low-scoring. Only 1.3 goals have been scored in the Lopetegui squad’s away games – the lowest figure in La Liga.
En-Nesyri has degraded in attack
In the offensive, however, the visitors definitely have room to improve, as just mentioned: None of the top 5 teams in the table scores fewer goals than Sevilla. Last year’s internal top scorer Youssef En-Nesyri, among others, has been disappointing.
Due to recurring injuries, the Moroccan has not been able to match his performance from last year with 18 goals this season. Furthermore, the striker recently returned from the Africa Cup and does not appear physically fresh due to the tournament.
The last time he scored in league play was last September, in a match against the upcoming opponents. Maybe this is a good omen for the upcoming task.
Predicted line-up of Sevilla:
Bono – Kounde – Diego Carlos – Rekik – Rakitic – Acuna – Jordan – Corona – Papu Gomez – Martial – En-Nesyri
Last matches played by Sevilla:
Europa League Final Stage
02/17 2022 – Sevilla 3 – 1 Dinamo Zagreb
LaLiga
02/11 2022 – Sevilla 2 – 0 Elche
02/05 2022 – Osasuna Pamplona 0 – 0 Sevilla
01/22 2022 – Sevilla 2 – 2 Celta Vigo
01/19 2022 – Valencia 1 – 1 Sevilla
Espanyol Barcelona – Sevilla Direct comparison / H2H record
In the first leg, the record Europa League winners beat the Blue and Whites 2-0 on their own ground. This gives the visitors a run of seven unbeaten duels in this pairing (5-2-0).
Furthermore, the reigning La Liga 2 champions have lost all of their past three home games against the league runners-up, always topping their opponents with a clean sheet.
Espanyol Barcelona – Sevilla Tip
Only last November’s visit to Real Madrid, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for Sevilla, saw at least three goals scored in one of the Andalusians’ twelve away games already.
A number that quickly makes it clear that the best defence in La Liga is also usually very secure away from home. In the duel between Espanyol Barcelona and Sevilla, it is therefore interesting to bet on another maximum of two goals.
This is also supported by the fact that the visitors will be particularly sparing with their strengths due to the additional game in the Europa League last Thursday and in anticipation of the second leg next week in Zagreb and will not set off any offensive fireworks.
On top of that, Sevilla’s attack is generally restrained away from home and only scored more than one goal in the away derby win against Betis this season.
