Sevilla vs Real Valladolid Predictions & Match Preview

Sevilla vs Real Valladolid predictions and match preview for Friday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as both sides bid to bounce back from defeats on the opening weekend.

Sevilla vs Real Valladolid Preview

Sevilla and Real Valladolid meet following opening weekend defeats in what feels like a really important game for the hosts. There is no such thing as “must win” at this stage in the season but anything less than three points will not be greeted well at the Sanchez-Pizjuan which was already starting to have serious doubts about Julen Lopetegui at the back-end of last season.

To some extent, Sevilla fans have never fully taken to the former Real Madrid and Spain boss but success on the pitch has prevented them from really turning on him until this point. Three straight top four finishes for the first time since the 1950’s point to the good job Lopetegui has done but an opening week defeat at Osasuna helps confirm suspicions that we may not see a repeat this season.

Karim Rekik and Nemanja Gudelj were Sevilla’s centre-backs in that game, a significant downgrade from the now departed Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde. The Andalusians have taken steps to fill that void though with Marcao expected to be available here after his move from Galatasaray while Tanguy Nianzou has joined this week from Bayern Munich for €16m and will be his most likely central defensive partner, although this game may come too soon.

Truth be told, Real Valladolid are probably not the worst team for Sevilla to be playing right now as they bid to find their feet defensively again. The new boys struggled to offer much of a goal threat on the opening weekend, going down 3-0 at home to Villarreal and are still missing their main striker Shon Weissman to injury.

To their credit, Real Valladolid were competitive for much of the game against a strong Villarreal side and 3-0 certainly flattered the visitors to a large extent. They looked like an organised unit who could compete at this level against most teams but you do wonder where exactly their goal threat is going to come from with Sergio, who only managed 3 goals in total across his last 3 top flight seasons, likely to lead the line here.

Team News & Possible Lineups

Sevilla

Possible XI: Bono – Acuna, Rekik, Marcao, Navas – Jordan, Fernando, Rakitic – Lamela, Mir, Ocampos (4-3-3)

Coach: Julen Lopetegui

Real Valladolid

Possible XI: Asenjo – Escudero, El Yamiq, Joaquin, Perez – Aguado, Mesa, Monchu – Villa, Leon, Sanchez (4-3-3)

Coach: Pacheta

Score Prediction: Sevilla 2-0 Real Valladolid

Despite losing at El Sadar, Sevilla did carry a threat and played reasonably well at times, at least within the context of the low expectations that greeted the start to this season for them. They might have to be a bit patient here with Real Valladolid highly unlikely to take many risks in this game but the home team’s extra quality should be telling over 90 minutes.

PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.