Valencia V Sevilla
Wednesday 29 October 2019 – 18:00 Kick-Off
Spanish La Liga
Pick: Under 2.5 Goals
Odds: 10/11
Bookmaker: BetVictor
Spanish Football Betting – 22Bet
Preview: Confidence will be high in the camp of Sevilla, winning their last three matches in all competitions. Valencia, meanwhile, have gone as many games without a win. So, who will prevail in this La Liga encounter at Mestalla Stadium – the form team or the side boasting home advantage?
Valencia V Sevilla Live Stats & Betting Odds
Valencia Preview – Head-to-head record big positive for Los Che?
Sunday’s 3-1 defeat away to Osasuna was only a third of the season but now means Valencia have as many losses in La Liga for the season as they do victories (W3 D4 L3, GF14 GA16). Striker Rodrigo was certainly in the thick of the action. He would open the scoring early into the first period before being shown a red card, all inside the first 30 minutes. The Spanish international will now serve a suspension.
The latter result was the third instance in succession whereby Los Che had failed to win a competitive fixture (D2 L1), having relinquished a slender lead with almost the last kick of the game to draw with Lille in the Champions League earlier in the week. The sight of home will be a welcome one then. Not only are they unbeaten there in La Liga this season (W2 D3), but they last lost a home encounter with Sevilla back in 2012 (W5 D2 since).
Dutch champions Ajax are currently the one team to have won inside Mestalla in 2019/20, though they did so in some style when winning 3-0. That was a particularly harsh scoreline on Valencia who would create chances only to continually misfire, a common theme of late – a 2-1 success against Alaves being the only occasion in their last six games more than one goal was scored by a Valencia outfit now under the guidance of coach Albert Celades.
Sevilla Preview – Ascent towards La Liga summit to continue?
A resurgent Sevilla are back within striking distance of the league leaders following back-to-back victories over Levante (1-0) and, more recently, Getafe (2-0). Either side of those results was a comprehensive 3-0 win in Europe over F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg. Three wins in relatively quick succession from Julen Lopetegui’s players, who could certainly do with some momentum ahead of a fixture fraught with danger.
The Andalusian club possess a wretched recent record in this fixture, not winning on each of their previous seven visits to Valencia in La Liga (D2 L5). Performances away from home have not been inspiring of late either; winning their first three away fixtures at Alaves, Espanyol and Granada, Sevilla have since slumped to defeats in Barcelona (4-0) and Eibar (3-2), losing the latter despite a 2-0 lead at half-time.
However, a professional performance last Sunday against Getafe (2-0) does mean they enter into this latest away assignment in good shape and high spirits. Goals from Javier Hernandez and Lucas Ocampos moved them up into fifth in the standings (W6 D1 L3, GF13 GA11), while it was also the fifth occasion the three points were accompanied by a clean sheet. Another stellar defensive display feels key to any potential success here.
Valencia V Sevilla Key Facts:
- Valencia, in tenth (W3 D4 L3), are still to lose a league fixture at home in 2019/20 (W2 D3).
- Sevilla, who are fifth (W6 D1 L3), have the second strongest away record in La Liga (W3 L2) despite losing their last two such matches.
- Not since 2012 have Sevilla secured victory away to Valencia in the league (D2 L5 since) – last season’s corresponding fixture ended 1-1.
Betting Summary
Valencia have lost their way a little of late. Despite taking an early lead at Osasuna on Sunday, Los Che would still lose 3-1. To make matters worse, Rodrigo – who earlier opened the scoring – was sent off and is now banned for this fixture as a consequence. On a more positive note, it is no defeat in five La Liga home games so far (W2 D3), while they haven’t lost at home to their next opponents in the previous seven meetings (W5 D2).
Sevilla have established some useful winning momentum once more, winning back-to-back La Liga encounters recently. The latest was another typically robust display, securing their fifth victory of the campaign whilst not conceding a goal to see off Getafe 2-0 at home. Meanwhile, just one team has registered more points from away fixtures this season than Julen Lopetegui’s men (3 from 5), but defeats in each of their last two such fixtures is less impressive.
The visitors arrive in better shape. Although the home side can boast of a dominant head-to-head, specifically as hosts. Sevilla, though, tend to keep their contests very tight and low-scoring. Couple that with Valencia managing no more than one goal in five of their last six competitive fixtures and suddenly Under 2.5 Goals makes sense.
