Deportivo Alaves vs Sevilla 20/01/21

Estadio Mendizorrotza is the venue, as Deportivo Alaves and Sevilla meet in a potentially low-scoring La Liga game. All of their last seven top-flight meetings have featured under 2.5 goals.

The hosts have lost their first two La Liga matches of the new calendar year, both of which saw over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring. Additionally, Alaves were hammered 5-0 by Almeria in the Coppa del Rey weekend, which means they have now failed to keep a clean sheet in six of their last seven competitive outings. In La Liga alone, ‘El Glorioso’ have claimed just one victory in their six previous home games (D4, L1), scoring under 1.5 goals per match four times in the process. Abelardo’s men will have to avoid conceding first to even stand the chance of winning here, as they’ve lost eight of the ten La Liga fixtures in which they shipped the opening goal (W1, D1).

Meanwhile, a 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid in their last La Liga match saw Sevilla’s six-game unbeaten league streak come to a halt (W4, D2). If football does follow the script, the ‘clean-sheet’ theme will play a significant role here, as ten (71.43%) of Sevilla’s 15 La Liga fixtures won/lost this season have seen the winner register a shutout. What’s more, 47.06% of their La Liga games this season have yielded the same 1-0 scoreline! Having that said, the visitors’ recent league trips have been notably tight, as six of the last seven have ended separating the sides by under 1.5 goals (W3, D2, L2). Lackluster first-half performances have seen Julen Lopetegui’s men score the division joint-lowest two first-half goals on the road this term.