Sevilla vs Valencia prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-08-10 20:00.
Sevilla’s first full season with José Luis Mendilibar at the helm promises to be an exciting one, not least because they earned more LaLiga (LL) points than three-quarters of the competition from the day of his debut, in addition to winning their seventh UEFA Europa League (UEL) crown. It was a remarkable turnaround given they were two points above the drop zone when Mendilibar arrived, and he was rewarded with a new contract in June, having reportedly requested just one year for now.
If they can continue that kind of form through to 2023/24, perhaps a return to the top-four that they occupied at the end of the three seasons prior to 2022/23 is not out of the question. Mendilibar would not be drawn into predictions about where his team may finish, but told a Spanish publication he is “happy with the quality” of players at his disposal. Notably, his second LL win at Sevilla came against upcoming opponents Valencia (2-0), who his club haven’t lost to in nine H2Hs (W6, D3).
Valencia suffered their worst LL season of the 21st century in terms of both points (42) and position (16th) last time out, but caretaker manager Rubén Baraja was signed up for two further seasons after a string of positive late season results, including a 1-0 defeat of Real Madrid, steered them to safety. Unsurprisingly then, captain José Luis Gayà stated the obvious during pre-season when declaring the squad needs to improve a lot.
Perhaps Gayà ’s most interesting comment was an admission that the team needs signings, so off-field activity could play a significant role in addressing some key areas of concern, such as their travelling form in 2022/23. Albeit mostly under their previous manager, Valencia lost ten of their first 14 away trips of last LL season (W1, D3), though the recovery under Baraja suggests that could be behind them.
Players to watch: Considering he won the UEL with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021/22, newly acquired midfielder Djibril Sow seems a perfect fit for Sevilla; he already has an assist to his name against Valencia, coming during the 2018/19 Champions League. After he scored in three of Valencia’s last four games of the previous LL season, 21-year-old Diego López could find himself getting regular starts under Baraja this term.
Hot stat: Valencia’s only away clean sheet of the previous LL season was against last-placed Elche.