Deportivo Alavés face Sevilla in Friday's La Liga clash.

2024-09-16

In a clash at the Estadio Mendizorrotza, Deportivo Alavés aims to extend their Friday home dominance and complete a rare trifecta of victories over Sevilla, who are determined to end their winless stretch against the Babazorros in La Liga.

Deportivo Alavés

Alavés, reeling from a disheartening 3-2 defeat at the hands of Espanyol on matchday five, will look to return to winning ways when they face Sevilla this Friday. The Babazorros were eventually undone by a Javi Puado hat trick after a 1-1 draw at halftime. Nahuel Tenaglia offered some hope with a goal, but it wasn’t enough to avoid their second La Liga defeat of the season.

Manager Luis García has called for caution amid their commendable start, urging fans not to get carried away, as this is Alavés' best league opening in six years. He emphasised that the squad, bolstered by several new arrivals over the summer, is still adjusting.

Alavés enjoyed a remarkable double over Sevilla in the 2023/24 La Liga season, scoring a total of seven goals across the two fixtures, a historic achievement for the club. On Friday, they would be keen to earn three wins in a row over the visitors, having established a fine record for themselves on this particular day of the week.

They have lost just once in their last 12 home games on a Friday in La Liga, with the sole defeat coming in a loss to Athletic Club in September 2023. García is likely to deploy a 4—4—2 formation with Stoichkov and Kike García leading the attack. Hugo Novoa is sidelined with a muscle injury.

Sevilla

A hard-fought 1-0 victory over Getafe finally secured a maiden win for Sevilla in La Liga this season. Veteran Jesús Navas' 23rd-minute strike was enough to earn them the crucial three points, lifting the visitors to 14th place in the standings.

García Pimienta will be eager to build on the victory, having lost only one of their last five away fixtures against Alavés (2W, 2D, 1L). That defeat came in a seven-goal thriller that ended 3-4 in August 2023 on their previous visit to Mendizorrotza. It was the first time in club history that they had conceded four goals in an away match.

Sevilla have endured difficulties in recent meetings with Alavés, failing to secure a win in their last four La Liga encounters against the Babazorros (0W, 2D, 2L), marking their worst run against the club in top-flight history. They will be hoping to end this four-game winless streak when they visit Mendizorrotza on Friday.

Isaac Romero is expected to spearhead the attack in a 4-3-3 setup, flanked by Chidera Ejuke and Jesús Navas. Meanwhile, the Andalusian side will be without Juanlu Sánchez and Saúl Ñíguez, who are suspended following red cards in recent matches against Getafe and Mallorca, respectively.