Rayo faces a worrying crisis of results with the visit of Sevilla, which arrives in Vallecas plagued by casualties but reinforced for their victory in the Europa League against English West Ham and with the aim of establishing themselves in second place in the table.
The Madrid team is in a slump in results that has been going on since the Christmas break. From the eight league games played this 2022 have only added one point of twenty-four possible and has not won for two and a half months, since December 18, 2021 against Alavés.
In this time, the team has chained seven defeats -the last six in a row- and only one draw, a poor balance that has made it go from living comfortably in the noble zone of the table in just two months to beginning to look down with concern .
Due to this losing streak, the game against Sevilla seems vital, since a new setback would leave the team in a very delicate situation, knowing that the next day Vallecas will visit another complicated rival, Atlético de Madrid.
for this match Andoni Iraola has significant casualties. Montenegrin Esteban is not available in the center of the defense Saveljichwhich is likely to replace Mario Suarez.
Two other important casualties are those of the ends Isi Palazon and Alvaro Garcia, both sanctioned, which will be supplied foreseeably by the Senegalese Mamadou Sulla and the Portuguese Baby, its natural replacements.
At the point of attack, the maximum reference will continue to be Sergio Guardiolasince the Colombian Radamel Falcao He continues to drag the muscle injury he has suffered for two weeks, and from which he has not yet recovered in time, and will continue to be out.
Opposite will be Sevilla, who, eight points behind the leader, arrive at the event reinforced by their victory in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 against West Ham, but also with eight casualties, a constant in recent months at Julen Lopetegui’s team.
preview of the Rayo-Sevilla match
The sevillistas, who have gone thirteen games undefeated in the League, face the clash with the ambition of overcoming their unfinished business this season, giving their best version away from home and getting a win to try to continue in the fight, increasingly distant, for the qualification. Also not to continue giving ground to their main pursuers: Atlético de Madrid and Barcelona.
And it is that victory away from home has been denied to Sevilla for more than two months, when on January 3 they won in Cádiz (0-1). Since then, although they beat Zaragoza in the Cup, they have gone six games without winning away from Nervión, with two defeats (against Betis in the cup tournament and in Europe in Zagreb) and four league ties (Valencia, Osasuna, Espanyol and Alavés) .
For this reason, and despite the fact that the injuries continue chasing Lopetegui’s teamSevilla knows that they must take a step forward as a visitor and, incidentally, that a victory will make them arrive with redoubled spirits at the return of the round of 16 of the Europa League on Thursday in London.
Lopetegui has eight casualties, seven due to injury and one due to suspension. injured are Suso Fernándezthe dutch Rekikthe Argentines Lamela, Montiel and Papu Gómez and the Brazilians Diego Carlos and Fernando). In the case of the last three, they are key men for their defensive system and game creation. The sanctioned is the midfielder Joan Jordan.
Even so, he recovers the Danish for the average Thomas Delaney, who did not play due to suspension against the English, and the Croatian Ivan Rakitic, who suffered an illness in the warm-up for that match. Both are outlined as starters along with the French striker Anthony Martialwho reappeared on Thursday, with the doubt of whether the Argentine left-back Marcos Acuna will have rest and will be supplied by the Swedish Ludwig Augustinsson.
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