Valencia vs Sevilla prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-02-16 20:00.
Valencia have alternated between wins and defeats across their last six competitive fixtures (W3, L3) so perhaps it’s no surprise that they started this La Liga round in ninth place and with a goal difference of exactly zero. But things would have been quite different had they not conceded twice after the 85th minute to lose 2-0 to Las Palmas last weekend, the kind of result which highlights why they aren’t threatening the top five.
“That’s football,” manager Rubén Baraja concluded afterwards, already trying to focus on their next game against Sevilla, which arrives as they try to extend a seven-match unbeaten run in home league action (W5, D2). Everything but the H2H history will need his full attention here as Los Ches haven’t won a home encounter against Sevilla since October 2017 (D3, L2), with all of those games since producing less than 2.5 goals.
Sevilla are no strangers to such low-scoring encounters, for their last three league fixtures (W2, D1) produced an average of two goals per game as they moved clear of the relegation zone. Poignantly, manager Quique Sánchez Flores dedicated their most recent win over Atlético Madrid (1-0) to the fans that were tragically killed in a car crash on their way to support them at Rayo Vallecano one game prior.
Now looking to build on back-to-back La Liga victories for the first time this season, Los Nervionenses haven’t won consecutive league away fixtures since a run of four last term that included a 2-0 victory here. That was before Flores took over the team, and he must be desperate to break his duck at the Mestalla as he has never personally triumphed here whether in charge of Atlético, Espanyol or Getafe (D2, L5)!
Players to watch: All three of Roman Yaremchuk’s goals for Valencia this term arrived before the 25th minute, including against AlmerĂa in their most recent home league victory. Hailed by Flores as Sevilla’s “match-winner at the moment,” Isaac Romero’s strike against AtlĂ©tico was also his third goal in a row to come before the 25th minute.
Hot stat: Valencia’s La Liga home games this term have featured a league-low of just two goals after the 75th minute.