Eibar V Sevilla
Thursday 26th September 2019 – 18:00 Kick-Off
Spanish La Liga
Pick: Under 2.5 Goals
Odds: 5/6
Bookmaker: MoPlay
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/5 | 23/10 | 5/4 |
* (All betting odds displayed were correct as of 24th September 2019 at 11:30)
Preview: Sevilla‘s unbeaten start perished at the weekend, losing 1-0 at home to Real Madrid as head coach Julen Lopetegui seen his team meekly surrender top spot in La Liga. What will their response be when they make their way to the Ipurua Municipal Stadium to face an Eibar side still desperately searching for its first win of the campaign?
Spanish Football Betting – 22Bet
Eibar Preview – Home support a catalyst for first league win?
Too early for the alarm bells, perhaps. There will, nonetheless, be some legitimate concern surrounding the start Eibar have made in La Liga this season. Their opening five games have returned only two points (D2 L3), with both coming on the road in scoreless draws at Osasuna and Levante, losing the remaining three encounters to Mallorca (2-1), Atletico Madrid (3-2) and Espanyol (1-2). To summarise by saying improvements are needed would be an understatement.
More disappointing than the actual results will have been the performances. On one occasion, which was away at Osasuna (xG: OSA 0.58 – 0.86 EIB), were they the better side over the course of 90 minutes, and even in that instance it was marginal. Jose Luis Mendilibar has watched his team have to tough it out for a lot of their other matches – particularly as the forwards continue to labour, scoring one goal or fewer in all but one fixture.
The one mitigating reason for their sluggish start will be that just one fixture to date was contested on home soil: a 2-1 loss to Espanyol, in a game they did lead in only to concede twice inside three devastating minutes. If there is to be a revival of fortunes anytime soon, though, it will more than likely stem from their home form. Eibar would finish 2018/19 with a better record at home than eleven other teams (W9 D6 L4, GF31 GA21), registering 33 points compared with only 14 on the road.
Sevilla Preview – Fourth away win in the offing?
This match could reveal a lot about the character within this Sevilla team. That is because the Andalusians recently relinquished top spot in La Liga, along with their previously unbeaten tag, after losing a closely-fought encounter at home to Real Madrid at the weekend. There was very little between the two teams in truth, with Los Blancos edging Expected Goals (SEV 0.65 – 1.04 REA).
The biggest disappointment about the Sevilla performance last time out was how within themselves the team seemed to play, struggling to fashion any clear-cut scoring opportunities against a side which had conceded in every competitive game prior. It was by far and away their poorest attacking display of the campaign, meaning it could conceivably have been “one of those days” that even the very best sides suffer from occasionally.
However, if the manager could have personally hand-picked his next opponent, Eibar would not have been too far from his lips. Sevilla were 3-1 winners in this same fixture last season and can be justifiably confident about their chances of further success on the back some superb early exploits on the road, winning all three of their away fixtures in 2019/20 without so much as conceding: Espanyol (0-2), Granada (0-1) and Alaves (0-1).
Eibar V Sevilla Key Facts:
- One of only two sides still without a win in La Liga this season, Eibar have collected two points from a possible fifteen thus far (W0 D2 L3).
- Sevilla lost for the first time this season in their last encounter but have still made a bright start (W3 D1 L1).
- Last season, Sevilla would register four points from meetings with Eibar, with the latter losing 3-1 at home.
Betting Summary
The longer it takes them to secure that elusive first win, the more difficult it becomes. Unfortunately for Eibar, it doesn’t get much more difficult than Sevilla at the present time, facing not only a team which has made a very promising start to the campaign but who were also 3-1 victors in last season’s corresponding fixture. That was one of only four defeats incurred at home however (W9 D6 L4), with Eibar often a different beast in front of their supporters.
It was their form away from home which seriously undermined the efforts of Sevilla in the league last term, with their away record ranking as only the 12th-strongest in the entire division (W5 D5 L9). It might be early days but they appear to have put those away woes to bed by winning all three away encounters thus far, which is made all the more impressive by not conceding a single goal. Need to produce a positive response to losing first game of the season last time out to Real Madrid.
Sevilla have specialised in grinding out victories on their travels so far, doing so away to Espanyol, Granada and Alaves. Eibar are in poorer form than all those sides but usually save their better displays for at home. It should be tight. Eibar have struggled to impose themselves in the attacking third during their early encounters, scoring one goal or fewer in four of five games. Meanwhile, Sevilla are still to concede on the road, with all three such games producing two or fewer goals in the match.
