Sevilla vs Valladolid prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2022-08-18 20:00.
Sevilla lost some key players over the summer, most notably Diego Carlos and Jules Koundé, but expectations coming into the campaign were still high after a successful season last term which saw them qualify for the UEFA Champions League. However, a shock defeat in their La Liga (LL) opener away to Osasuna, a team which finished a massive 23 points behind them last season, has dampened fan excitement somewhat.
Manager Julen Lopetegui stated that he hopes sports director RamĂłn Monchi RodrĂguez will reinforce the squad before the summer market closes, but for now, his focus will be on getting Sevilla’s first points of the season. Perhaps he’ll be happy this clash comes at home on a Friday night given his side are unbeaten in their last seven home Friday fixtures, although the high number of draws in that run (five) does suggest victory is far from a foregone conclusion.
They welcome a Real Valladolid side who weren’t able to bring any of last season’s impressive Segunda División form with them in their LL return last week, as they fell 3-0 at home to Villarreal. That result extended their winless run at this level to 13 matches (D6, L7), the last five of which all ended in defeat.
Valladolid have legendary striker Ronaldo as their majority shareholder, therefore it’s somewhat ironic that they’ve got a pretty underwhelming goal record at this level. That’s especially true when they meet Sevilla, having failed to score more than a single goal in any of their last seven H2H clashes (D3, L4). However, manager Pacheta might point to his side having scored exactly twice in four of their final five away league matches of last season (W4, D1).
Players to watch: Sevilla forward Rafa Mir can make some personal history here by scoring in a third consecutive LL appearance for the very first time. He’ll line up against Valladolid’s Sergio León who is chasing a third LL career goal against Sevilla, although he has suffered some indifferent form recently, having only struck once in his past ten league attempts!
Hot stat: Sevilla’s 3-0 home victory over newly-promoted Vallecano last season extended their home opening LL record to no defeat in six (W3, D3).