One of the biggest fixtures on the La Liga calendar will take place at Estadio Ramon on Sunday afternoon, as Sevilla welcome Real Betis for the Seville derby.
Sevilla are currently second in the table, six points behind league leaders Real Madrid, while Real Betis occupy third, five points below their opponents this weekend.
Match preview
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Sevilla have enjoyed an excellent season in Spain's top flight, picking up 51 points from their 25 matches, which has left them in second spot in the table, six points behind division leaders Real Madrid.
Julen Lopetegui's side were in Europa League action on Thursday evening, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the second leg of their knockout round playoff tie, but the Spanish outfit won the first leg 3-1 and therefore advanced to the next stage courtesy of a 3-2 success.
Sevilla are actually unbeaten in La Liga since losing away to Real Madrid at the end of November, but they have won just one of their last five, sharing the points on four occasions, including a 1-1 with Espanyol last time out.
Los Nervionenses have not won La Liga since 1946, while they have not finished higher than fourth since 2009 so are very much on course to enjoy a famous campaign, and the home side will be desperate to return to winning ways against their biggest rivals in this weekend's Seville derby.
Sevilla have won 48, drawn 23 and lost 30 of their previous 101 top-flight fixtures with Real Betis, while they are unbeaten in the league in this fixture since September 2018, winning two of their last three contests, including a 1-0 victory in the corresponding match last season.
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Real Betis have not beaten Sevilla away from home in the league since January 2018, but they have already overcome their rivals this term, recording a 2-1 win in the Copa del Rey back in January, with the match starting on the Saturday and finishing on the Sunday after it was abandoned due to an object being thrown from the crowd at Sevilla midfielder Joan Jordan.
Manuel Pellegrini's side were also in Europa League action on Thursday evening, drawing 0-0 with Zenit St Petersburg, which saw them book their spot in the next round courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate success.
Real Betis have also been in excellent form in the league, winning four of their last five matches, including their last two against Levante and Mallorca, which has left them in third spot in the table.
The Green and Whites have collected 46 points from their 25 league matches this season, which has left them four points ahead of fourth-placed Barcelona and five behind Sevilla, so the club are also on course to enjoy a famous season, having not finished in the top four since 2005.
Los Verdiblancos are also bidding to reach this season's Copa del Rey final, having recorded a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano in the first leg of their semi-final, with the return fixture due to take place on March 3.
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Team News
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Sevilla will be without a number of important players for this match, with Lucas Ocampos and Jules Kounde missing through suspension, while Anthony Martial, Karim Rekik, Suso and Erik Lamela are all injured.
The home side are also unlikely to be able to call upon Diego Carlos due to an injury that the defender picked up against Dinamo in the Europa League, so Thomas Delaney could start alongside Nemanja Gudelj in the middle of the defence this weekend.
Jordan is also expected to return in central midfield, while a front three could include Rafa Mir at centre-forward, although Youssef En-Nesyri is also pushing to be involved from the start.
As for Real Betis, Martin Montoya and Juan Miranda remain on the sidelines through injury, while Victor Camarasa and Rodri are doubts for the home side.
Head coach Pellegrini will make changes from the team that started in the Europa League on Thursday, with Juanmi, Marc Bartra, Borja Iglesias and William Carvalho all in line to return.
Sergio Canales and Nabil Fekir will again operate in advanced areas for the away side, while Hector Bellerin and Alex Moreno should continue in the full-back positions for the Green and Whites.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Montiel, Delaney, Gudelj, Acuna; Rakitic, Fernando, Jordan; Corona, Mir, Gomez
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Bellerin, Bartra, Gonzalez, Moreno; Rodriguez, Carvalho; Juanmi, Canales, Fekir; Iglesias
We say: Sevilla 1-1 Real Betis
Sevilla will be a missing a whole host of important players for this weekend's match, which is certainly a concern considering Real Betis' form entering the contest. With a full squad, we would be backing Sevilla to edge this match, but under the circumstances, Real Betis should be able to claim a welcome point.
Top tip
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 50.72%. A win for Real Betis had a probability of 26.16% and a draw had a probability of 23.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.66%) and 2-0 (7.8%). The likeliest Real Betis win was 1-2 (6.59%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.68%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Sevilla in this match.
