Sevilla vs Alaves prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-01-11 20:00.
Sevilla narrowly survived a scare from second-tier Racing de Ferrol (W 2-1) to advance to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey, a result that probably delivered their fans more relief than joy. It was still a crucial victory for new manager Quique Sánchez Flores, who spoke of the importance of “getting used to winning”, whilst he was especially pleased with his injury-hit squad not needing extra time in an already busy season.
But they cannot declare themselves back on track until they end a drought in La Liga home games that stretches back to September 2023 (D4, L2), albeit with most games coming against top-half opposition. Imminent visits from Alavés and Osasuna are therefore an opportunity to extend their one-point gap to the drop zone, and with a mightily impressive top-flight home record against Alavés (W8, D3, L1), they appear well placed to do so here.
AlavĂ©s themselves sit just two points ahead of the relegation zone, largely due to the fact they’ve picked up only two wins (D5, L8) from the last 15 La Liga rounds. They were both at home to relegation probables Granada (3-1) and AlmerĂa (1-0), signalling the difficult times they’ve had against stronger opposition throughout the season.
They’ll be hoping that eliminating Real Betis from the Copa del Rey, as well as securing a point away to Real Sociedad in their most recent La Liga away outing signals a turning point in that regard. Their survival could be dependent on an improvement in their travelling output, which sees them yet to win a single league game away from home this term (D4, L6). That includes trips to lowly ranked opponents such as Celta Vigo (D 1-1) and Cádiz (L 1-0), so even out-of-form clubs cannot be taken for granted.
Players to watch: Sevilla full-back Adrià Pedrosa scored first not only in their last La Liga win, but also in his personal debut against Alavés. Luis Rioja recorded Alavés’ only goal in their most recent La Liga fixture, and also opened the scoring in the reverse H2H.
Hot stat: Just 26% of Alavés’ La Liga games this season produced over 2.5 total goals, which was a joint-low after 19 rounds.