Sevilla vs Espanyol - Both Teams Looking to Overcome their Recent Defeats

Next Sunday, Sevilla will take on Espanyol at the mythical Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium for round 32 of Liga BBVA. The Andalusia side suffered a major setback last weekend on their trip to Galicia, where they were defeated 1-0 by Celta de Vigo with a late Nolito goal from the penalty spot. The team’s head coach Unai Emery was far from being pleased with the work from the referee at the end of the match, particularly due to the penalty that dictated the match’s outcome. Next Sunday, Sevilla will also have a complicated test against a well organized Espanyol side that is also a very dangerous team when playing away from home.

Unai Emery still has some doubts concerning the physical condition of the Portuguese international goalkeeper Beto, who was absent from the Celta de Vigo’s match due to an injured back. On the other hand, he knows for sure that he will not be able to count on the Uruguayan midfielder Sebastián Cristóforo that was submitted to a knee surgery last week.

Espanyol was also defeated last weekend at the Catalunya derby against the Barcelona giants, with a controversial penalty goal by Lionel Messi. At the end of the match, Javier Aguirre was devastated by the work of the referee and claimed that his team was up to the challenge until the judge conceded the controversial penalty.

To make things worse for Espanyol, Javier Aguirre will not be able to included on his team the centre back Hector Moreno, who was substituted during the second half of last weekend’s match due to a tailbone injury, while Simão Saborosa, Víctor Sánchez, Diego Colotto, and Kiko Casilla will all miss the match because they are suspended.

Last time both teams met was back in November at Cornellà-El Prat and the Andalusia team won 3-1 with goals from Carlos Bacca, Vitolo, and Federico Fazio while the usual suspect Sergio Garcia scored for the home side. With both teams desperately looking to forget last weekend’s setbacks, next Sunday’s match will certainly be very close, and considering the large number of Espanyol players that will miss the match, Sevilla are favourites to win the match.

Sevilla

W-14 L-9 D-8

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Espanyol

W-11 L-13 D-7

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Possible Line-ups

Sevilla (4-4-2) -J.Varas - Coke - N. Pareja - Fazio - F.Navarro - Rakitic - Iborra - Vitolo - Reyes - Gameiro - Bacca

Espanyol (4-4-2) - Germán - J. López - Sidnei - V. Álvarez - Fuentes - Abraham - D. López - Pizzi - Álex Fernandez - Stuani - S. Garcia

Prediction: Sevilla  2 Espanyol 0