Always Try To Win
Though overshadowed by the Madrid derby this weekend, Sevilla’s clash against Valencia promises to be a thrilling affair and a fixture fit to conclude any weekend of action.
Los Nervionenses haven’t started the season in the kind of vein they might have liked. After being eliminated from the Champions League by Braga, they’ve only played well in La Primera in bursts, which partly accounted for coach Antonio Alvarez, who was replaced promptly by Gregorio Manzano.
The former Mallorca coach hasn’t had a great deal of instant success as los Rojiblancos still sit eighth in the standings, having won two and drawn two since the new boss got settled in the dugout. If Manzano was under any illusions as to how far he must guide his team, they would have disappeared at Camp Nou last weekend, where he set his side up in an attacking fashion and was massively punished by a 5-0 defeat against rampant Barcelona.
Europa League action brought an upturn in fortunes as Sevilla defeated Karpaty 4-0 in terrific style, despite rotating his starting XI heavily.
“Sevilla will always try to win every game anywhere we play,” he said after the victory over the Ukrainians, which took them to the summit of their pool.
When they face Barcelona again, he may have to consider victory by a different method, but the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan crowd demand pleasing offensive football, so expect a fluid performance from the Andalucians on Monday night.
Tough Crowd
Before Monday’s trip to Andalucia, much of the focus has been on Valencia’s poor record against La Primera’s big sides since Unai Emery took charge of the team in 2008. Despite qualification to the Champions League and consistently improving the club’s league position, the 39-year-old, who celebrated his birthday last week, continues to have questions over his performance raised by the Mestalla faithful.
Only 30,000 souls chose to turn up to watch los Che’s vital Champions League encounter against Rangers last week, and 4,000 of them had travelled to support the Scottish side, hinting at the apathy in the city towards Valencia. Nevertheless, the Spaniards turned in an excellent performance to win 3-0, though they did ride their luck at times as the Gers twice rattled the woodwork.
David Navarro, meanwhile, is eager to raise the profile of his side by picking up a win to potentially enhance los Che’s claim to third spot. “We don’t worry about not beating an important team because the league is 38 games long and one fixture is as important as another,” he told Marca. “We will win in Sevilla on Monday.”
Despite losing David Villa and David Silva, the club’s two biggest names in the summer, Valencia are going just as strong as ever, with the likes of Roberto Soldado, Aritz Aduriz and Tino Costa stepping forward to fill sizeable voids.
After a three match winless streak in the league, the Mestalla club would do well to win on Monday, not only to shake a monkey from their back, but also to ease some of the harsh criticism falling onto the shoulders of their coach.
Though overshadowed by the Madrid derby this weekend, Sevilla’s clash against Valencia promises to be a thrilling affair and a fixture fit to conclude any weekend of action.
Los Nervionenses haven’t started the season in the kind of vein they might have liked. After being eliminated from the Champions League by Braga, they’ve only played well in La Primera in bursts, which partly accounted for coach Antonio Alvarez, who was replaced promptly by Gregorio Manzano.
The former Mallorca coach hasn’t had a great deal of instant success as los Rojiblancos still sit eighth in the standings, having won two and drawn two since the new boss got settled in the dugout. If Manzano was under any illusions as to how far he must guide his team, they would have disappeared at Camp Nou last weekend, where he set his side up in an attacking fashion and was massively punished by a 5-0 defeat against rampant Barcelona.
Europa League action brought an upturn in fortunes as Sevilla defeated Karpaty 4-0 in terrific style, despite rotating his starting XI heavily.
“Sevilla will always try to win every game anywhere we play,” he said after the victory over the Ukrainians, which took them to the summit of their pool.
When they face Barcelona again, he may have to consider victory by a different method, but the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan crowd demand pleasing offensive football, so expect a fluid performance from the Andalucians on Monday night.
Tough Crowd
Before Monday’s trip to Andalucia, much of the focus has been on Valencia’s poor record against La Primera’s big sides since Unai Emery took charge of the team in 2008. Despite qualification to the Champions League and consistently improving the club’s league position, the 39-year-old, who celebrated his birthday last week, continues to have questions over his performance raised by the Mestalla faithful.
Only 30,000 souls chose to turn up to watch los Che’s vital Champions League encounter against Rangers last week, and 4,000 of them had travelled to support the Scottish side, hinting at the apathy in the city towards Valencia. Nevertheless, the Spaniards turned in an excellent performance to win 3-0, though they did ride their luck at times as the Gers twice rattled the woodwork.
David Navarro, meanwhile, is eager to raise the profile of his side by picking up a win to potentially enhance los Che’s claim to third spot. “We don’t worry about not beating an important team because the league is 38 games long and one fixture is as important as another,” he told Marca. “We will win in Sevilla on Monday.”
Despite losing David Villa and David Silva, the club’s two biggest names in the summer, Valencia are going just as strong as ever, with the likes of Roberto Soldado, Aritz Aduriz and Tino Costa stepping forward to fill sizeable voids.
After a three match winless streak in the league, the Mestalla club would do well to win on Monday, not only to shake a monkey from their back, but also to ease some of the harsh criticism falling onto the shoulders of their coach.
TEAM NEWS
Sevilla
There has been a double blow to Sevilla on the injury front this weekend, with the news that Tiberio Guarente will miss six months of action obviously the biggest blow to the Andalucian side, who have admitted that they knew the player had problems with the joint when he joined the club in the summer. Additional, first choice goalkeeper Andres Palop is sidelined
Federico Fazio continues to sit out with ankle problems, while Jesus Navas recently underwent surgery to cure an issue with the same area.
Valencia
Young French midfielder Sofiane Feghouli continues his recovery from injury, while there is concern over the fitness of Aritz Aduriz and Alejandro Dominguez, who both pulled out of training late last week with muscular complaints.
Sevilla
There has been a double blow to Sevilla on the injury front this weekend, with the news that Tiberio Guarente will miss six months of action obviously the biggest blow to the Andalucian side, who have admitted that they knew the player had problems with the joint when he joined the club in the summer. Additional, first choice goalkeeper Andres Palop is sidelined
Federico Fazio continues to sit out with ankle problems, while Jesus Navas recently underwent surgery to cure an issue with the same area.
Valencia
Young French midfielder Sofiane Feghouli continues his recovery from injury, while there is concern over the fitness of Aritz Aduriz and Alejandro Dominguez, who both pulled out of training late last week with muscular complaints.
Prediction
Sevilla 1-1 Valencia 
