After a long summer of player transfers, multiple rumors, and coaching changes, the La Liga schedule finally kicks off on Friday. Among the games on the schedule is a rivalry game between Sevilla FC and Valencia CF, two teams that drastically underachieved in league play last year.
Both sides will be desperate to get the 2023-24 campaign off to a good start with new players. Neither manager has been through a full season, with Ruben Baraja taking over in Valencia last February while Jose Luis Mendilibar was hired in Sevilla a month later. The Sevilla vs Valencia best bets are ready to go in this La Liga season opener.
Sevilla vs. Valencia Information
Sevilla vs Valencia
Location of the game: Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. Seville, Spain.
Date & Time: Friday, August 11. 4:00 p.m. ET.
How to watch: ESPN+ | ESPN Deportes
Recent Scores
This is the season-opening game for both teams. Sevilla drew their last preseason game 1-1 against Atletico Madrid in San Francisco, while Valencia lost at home 2-1 to Aston Villa.
Last season Sevilla won in Valencia 2-0, and the teams drew in Seville 1-1.
The 2021-22 season also saw a 1-1 draw, while Sevilla won 3-1 at home. Valencia haven’t won in this matchup since March 2019, with Sevilla winning six times with three 1-1 draws.
Sevilla vs. Valencia Analysis
Sevilla finished 12th last year and didn’t make a ton of moves to improve the squad. They rely on their defense, and that carried them to a Europa League title and a Champions League berth this year. They will need to find some offense to improve their La Liga ranking, but Sevilla scored exactly one goal in six straight preseason games this summer.
Youssef En-Nesyri, who had a breakout World Cup for Morocco, leads the attack, and he scored 18 times for Sevilla last year, eight in La Liga games. Veterans Ivan Rakitic and Lucas Ocampos are key, while Jesus Navas captains the defense. Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou is vital and playing with confidence after securing the Europa League title on penalties last season.
Valencia’s Narrow Escape
Valencia found themselves in a relegation battle last season and escaped with a 16th-place finish. They made moves this summer, selling Yunush Musuh to AC Milan for 20 million Euros and spending more than half that to bring in multiple new players. But the squad remains young, and they also lost some key loanees at the end of last season.
Valencia won four of their five preseason games and scored eight goals in the process.
Valencia doesn’t have a superstar, but they do have some promising young players like left-back Gaya, striker Diego Lopez, and midfielder Javi Guerra. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili will have his hands full again this season, as Valencia are likely to have another negative goal differential.
Odds Breakdown
Moneyline: Sevilla are the home favorites on the La Liga odds. They are -105 on the moneyline and -410 on the double chance.
On the Sevilla vs Valencia best bets, Valencia is +290 on the moneyline and -130 on the double chance. A draw in this game is +240.
Over/Under: Under 2.5 goals is -124, while over 2.5 goals is listed at +118.
Sevilla vs. Valencia Betting Pick and Prediction
Pick 1: Under 2.5 goals at -124 is the top Sevilla vs Valencia best bets. This under hit in both games last year, and neither team scored much in the preseason, so a 1-0 or 1-1 game should be expected.
Pick 2: Sevilla moneyline at -105. The hosts will be desperate to get off to a good start and stay in the top half of the La Liga standings this season.
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