Match Pack: Sevilla FC vs Athletic Club (LaLiga MD8)

After three consecutive wins, spirits are high as Athletic Club head to the ever-difficult Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Los Leones are third in LaLiga Santander with 16 points after seven fixtures and are only three points behind Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona.

This weekend Los Rojiblancos travel down to Andalusia, where they face Sevilla FC. The six-time Europa League winners have endured a tough start of the season and are yet to win at home, something which has forced them to change managers and bring in former coach Jorge Sampaoli to replace Julen Lopetegui.

Ernesto Valverde's players have a good opportunity lay down a marker against a rival in the race to qualify for continental competition..

Match Info
Sevilla FC vs Athletic Club (Matchday 8)

Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán (Seville)

LaLiga Santander 22/23

Saturday October 8, 18:30 CEST

How to Watch

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Team News

The gaffer has named the same squad as last week's match against UD Almería. Defenders Dani Vivian and Yuri Berchiche remain sidelined due to their respective injury issues.

Valverde's comments

Read more from the Gaffer's press conference here.

The Opponents
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Head coach: Jorge Sampoali

The Argentinian coach returns to Sevilla, taking over from the outgoing Julen Lopetegui, who was relieved of his duties on Thursday night. 

Sampoali previously led the Andalusians during the 2016/17 campaign, leading the side to Champions League qualification before taking over at the Argentinian national team ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

Jorge's last job was at Ligue 1 team Olympique Marseille. During a 16-month stint at the French club, he achieved 5th and 2nd place finishes. He has an extensive resumé, having mostly coached big South American clubs, such as: O'Higgins (Chile), Emelec (Ecuador), Universidad de Chile (Chile), Santos (Brazil) and Atletico Mineiro (Brazil).

However, his biggest managerial triumph came whilst at the helm of the Chilean national side, who he steered to their first ever Copa America title in 2015.

New signings:

The host team lost some key players in the summer, with Jules Koundé (FC Barcelona), Diego Carlos (Aston Villa) and Lucas Ocampos (loan, Ajax) all moving on. However, they also dipped into the market, bringing in a range of transfers, frees and loans.

Transfers: Tanguy Nianzou (defender, from Bayern Munich), Marcão (defender, from Galatasaray). Free transfers: Adnan Januzaj (winger, from Real Sociedad), Isco (midfielder, from Real Madrid). Loans: Alex Telles (full-back, from Manchester Utd), Kasper Dolberg (centre-forward, from OGC Nice).

Recent form: LLWDL

Sevilla have had a tough time so far in 2022/23, winning just one of their first seven fixtures. The Andalusians, who have qualified for the Champions League in the past three seasons, find themselves languishing above the relegation zone in 17th place and are in dire need of a boost.

Previous Meetings
The two sides' first LaLiga encounter took place in 1934/35. In total, Sevilla FC and Athletic Club have played a total of 156 matches in the top flight. The overall record reflects the even-matched nature of the clash. Athletic have registered 61 wins, 30 draws and 65 defeats.

Los Leones have traditionally struggled on their travels to Seville for this fixture. From 76 clashes, we've managed 11 wins, 20 draws and 47 losses.

In our last five matches at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, the Zurigorri have picked up one victory, one draw and three defeats.

Last season, Athletic fell to a 1-0 defeat against Sevilla in the final fixture of the campaign. However, in 2020/21, Los Leones came back to Bilbao with all three points thanks to an Iñaki Williams winner in stoppage time.