Celta Vigo vs Sevilla

Estadio de Balaidos is the venue as Celta Vigo and Sevilla lock horns in a bottom-half La Liga showdown.

Rafael Benitez’s managerial future in Vigo is up in the air following Celta’s dreadful start to the new La Liga campaign (W1, D3, L7). Stuck in the drop zone, three points adrift of safety, they’re facing another season-long fight against relegation. Seeking an extension to their 12-year top-flight tenure instead of pursuing European qualification for the first time since 2016/17 as initially expected, Celta would probably settle for a point here after going winless in their last six La Liga H2Hs against Sevilla (D3, L3). Following a morale-crushing 1-0 loss at Girona last weekend, ‘Los Celestes’ regained some confidence with a thumping 4-0 win over lower-league Turegano in midweek Copa del Rey action, marking their first clean sheet in 12 competitive outings under Benitez.

Likewise, visiting Sevilla inflicted a 3-0 defeat on below-par Quintanar de la Orden in midweek, bouncing back from a woeful six-game winless streak across all competitions (D4, L2). New manager Diego Alonso must stem the bleeding after four consecutive La Liga games (D3, L1) left ‘Los Rojiblancos’ in the lower reaches, closer to the relegation zone than the European race. Sevilla’s underwhelming away form has seen them alternate between drawing (2) and losing (2) across their opening four La Liga travels this term, failing to get on the scoresheet twice on the last three. They can at least draw confidence from putting together three consecutive away league H2Hs without losing (W2, D1) since a 2-1 defeat in February 2020.