Match preview

Sevilla have a record of seven wins, five draws and eight defeats from their 20 La Liga matches this season, with 26 points leaving them in 11th spot in the division, only actually four points behind sixth-placed Mallorca.

Garcia Pimienta's side have quietly put together a decent run of form in La Liga, only losing one of their last four, securing seven points in the process, which has pushed them towards the top half of the division.

Los Nervionenses finished 14th in Spain's top flight last term, which proved to be their worst campaign since being relegated in 1999-2000, so there is plenty of room for improvement in 2024-25.

Sevilla will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 success over Girona, with Saul Niguez levelling the scores just before the hour, before Dodi Lukebakio came up with a late winner for the visitors.

Rojiblancos have been strong in front of their own fans this season, picking up 17 points from 10 matches, while they have only conceded nine times on home soil in La Liga during the 2024-25 campaign.

Espanyol have not actually beaten Sevilla in La Liga since January 2017, while they have not been victorious away from home against Saturday's opponents since January 2011, which is an indication of the size of their task in this game.

Earlier this season, Sevilla were 2-0 winners in the reverse match, while the hosts recorded a 3-2 victory when the two teams last locked horns at Estadio Ramon towards the end of the 2022-23 La Liga season.

Espanyol will enter this match full of confidence, though, having beaten fellow strugglers Real Valladolid 2-1 last time out, with Roberto Fernandez netting the game's winning goal in the 74th minute.

The Catalan team are 18th in the La Liga table, picking up 19 points from their 20 matches this term, and they are now just one point behind 17th-placed Alaves and 16th-placed Getafe.

The White and Blues secured a return to La Liga through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, so simply staying in the division would be a huge positive this term, and they have now lost just one of their last five league fixtures.

Sevilla possible starting lineup:

Nyland; Carmona, Bade, Gudelj, Salas; Lokonga, Sow; Lukebakio, Saul, Vargas; Ejuke

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Olivan; Roca, Lozano, Kral, Puado; Tejero, Veliz