Sevilla will attempt to keep pace with those at the top of La Liga when they travel to mid-table Mallorca in search of a third consecutive win on Wednesday evening.
Julen Lopetegui's side are currently one point behind leaders Real Sociedad, yet could go top of La Liga if they win their game in hand.
Match preview
© Reuters
It is 64 years since Sevilla last won a Spanish championship, with a staggering 51 managers having come and gone from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium since their La Liga win in 1956-57.
Lopetegui is bidding to become just the fifth manager in Sevilla's history to lead the club to a Spanish title, with the 55-year-old coach falling just short last season.
Sevilla had been as high as third heading into the final weeks of the campaign, yet a run of two wins from their final five games cost the Rojiblancos an unlikely title challenge.
However, a summer of strong recruitment that saw the likes of Rafa Mir and Erik Lamela arrive, whilst also retaining the services of Jules Kounde for another season at least, has allowed the side to establish themselves amongst the favourites.
Having dropped points on just three occasions this season, including only one defeat in the league, Sevilla will be keen to extend their strong run of from when they travel to Mallorca in midweek, who themselves are enjoying an impressive start to the season.
© Reuters
Promoted as runners-up from the Segunda Division last time around, Mallorca are sitting comfortably in 12th, having avoided defeat in over half of their league matches this season.
Whilst they may have suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Real Madrid prior to the last international break, Luis Garcia's side have more often than not been shrewd operators this season, keeping four clean sheets.
The standout result from that run is likely their point during a 0-0 draw at home to Villarreal in mid-September, and Mallorca will be hoping they can back up that result against another of the league's big guns in Sevilla.
If they are to upset the odds, Mallorca will need to put an end to a run of just one win from their previous seven La Liga matches against the Andalusian club.
Their last victory over Sevilla is not exactly in recent memory either, coming all the way back in March 2013 during a 2-1 win for Mallorca.
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
In the heart of Sevilla's midfield the last time they were beaten at the Son Moix Stadium was none other than Ivan Rakitic, who went on to leave the club for Barcelona one year later.
Now in his second spell with the club, Rakitic had started all but one of Sevilla's league matches this season, before being dropped ahead of their recent 5-3 win over Levante.
The Croatian could be in line for a return to the squad, should Lopetegui look to rotate ahead of a packed upcoming schedule.
Rakitic could find himself starting alongside another of Sevilla's recent arrivals in Thomas Delaney, who has featured in each of their league games since being drafted in from Borussia Dortmund.
There will not be a place in the starting 11 for Karim Rekik, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, yet Youssef En-Nesyri did return to the bench for the Levante game, giving Lopetegui a decision to make about whether he sticks with Rafa Mir, or favours the Moroccan instead.
Similarly, Mallorca are enjoying luck in the injury department with only Angel Rodriguez (concussion) and Takefusa Kubo (knee) likely to miss out.
Mallorca will also be without midfield pair Rodrigo Battaglia and Lee Kang-in, who were both sent off late on in their recent draw to Valencia, with the latter playing against his former club.
That means attacking responsibilities will once again fall down to Dani Rodriguez and Fer Nino, who between them have netted four of Mallorca's nine goals this season.
Breaching the league's second-best defence could prove problematic for Mallorca, who will also be expected to prevent a potent Sevilla attack at the same time.
It will be the job of Manolo Reina to deny the Sevilla forwards, as he looks to add to his already impressive clean sheet haul.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Reina; Maffeo, Valjent, Russo, Brian Olivan; Galarreta, Baba; Sanchez, Rodriguez, Nino; Hoppe
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Augustinsson; Rakitic, Delaney; Oliver, Munir, Suso; Mir
We say: Mallorca 0-2 Sevilla
Whilst remaining an unlikely prospect, it does seem as if time is running out for this Sevilla side to properly mount a title challenge and displace Spain's big three.
With only really Real Madrid looking like their imperious selves, this could be Sevilla's chance and given the form they are in, Mallorca should be no match for Lopetegui's men.
Top tip
Amos Murphy
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sevilla win with a probability of 47.79%. A draw had a probability of 29.4% and a win for Mallorca had a probability of 22.77%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 0-1 with a probability of 16.63%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.4%) and 1-2 (7.98%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 0-0 (13.28%), while for a Mallorca win it was 1-0 (10.18%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.8% likelihood.
