Sevilla vs Elche Prediction: Away side can stay unbeaten

An early-season mid-table tussle is in store over in Spain on Friday night as 7th placed Elche travel to Seville to take on 12th placed Sevilla.

Premier Sports 1 is the place to tune to for the 20:00 kick-off and our La Liga Betting Expert previews this one and gives us his top two bets for the match. You can check out his Sevilla vs Elche Predictions below...

La Liga returns following the international break, with a Friday night showdown at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. It's likely to be a tough game for Sevilla, who take on an Elche side that has impressed on their return to the top flight. 

Spanish football has not been short on crisis clubs in recent years. Barcelona and Valencia have both battled through severe problems off the pitch, but Sevilla's current issues have seen the seven-time Europa League winners emerge as genuine relegation candidates this season. 

The disconnect between the fanbase and those running the club has never been greater, and a bleak transfer window has only deepened those divides. 

The Andalusians were always going to need to raise funds this summer, but having finished 17th last term, they could not afford to seriously weaken an already limited squad. However, following the sales of star players Loïc Badé and Dodi Lukébakio, there is certainly now less quality at the disposal of the recently appointed Matías Almeyda. 

Youngster Stanis Idumbo also departed taking their total sales to around €55m. In terms of arrivals, they were totally reliant on free transfers and loan signings, with veterans Alexis Sánchez and César Azpilicueta the two most recognisable new faces. 

On the pitch, the Almeyda era kicked off with defeats against Athletic Club and Getafe, but the Argentine picked up his first points at the third time of asking, as Sevilla won 2-0 at struggling Girona last time out. There was a debut goal for Alfon González, a summer signing from Celta Vigo, although the visitors rode their luck at times as they hung on to their clean sheet. 

They'll be expecting a test on Friday night against an Elche side that looks comfortably the best of the three newly promoted clubs. They defeated fellow new boys Levante 2-0 last time out, with Rafa Mir and Rodri Mendoza both scoring with excellent finishes. 

Prior to that, Elche successfully held their own against Real Betis and Atlético Madrid, two members of last season's top six. Both games ended 1-1, and it has been a really encouraging start for Eder Sarabia's side. 

While there has been a significant squad overhaul over the last few months, Elche are still trying to play a similar style of football to the possession-heavy approach that won them promotion. Operating with three central defenders, they look to build from the back, and their early results suggest that is going to be effective at the higher level. 

They've averaged a 59% share of the ball across their opening three fixtures, the highest figure outside of the 'big three' clubs. While possession is no guarantee of good results, Los Franjiverdes look to have made smart additions that should ensure that their patient build-up play is complemented by some kind of end product. 

Mir has already formed a promising partnership with former Real Madrid youngster Álvaro Rodríguez in attack. Between them, they've already chipped in with two goals and two assists. 

Team News: 

The chaos of the past few weeks is at least over from a Sevilla perspective. While Badé and Lukébakio ultimately left and will be sorely missed, talented academy product Juanlu Sánchez stayed put, despite summer-long links with Italian champions Napoli. 

After a win last time out, Almeyda may not rush any of his deadline-day signings into the starting lineup, although we could see Alexis make his debut off the bench, while loanee Batista Mendy may get minutes in midfield.  

Akor Adams, Chidera Ejuke and Tanguy Nianzou are rated doubtful. Midfielder Joan Jordán will also definitely miss out due to an injury. 

As for Elche, their summer business also continued right up until the deadline, with full-backs Héctor Fort and Adrià Pedrosa both arriving on loan. They also signed former West Ham and West Brom winger Grady Diangana on a free transfer. 

Their squad now has a fair amount of depth to it, and Sarabia is only likely to be missing two players here, with Marc Aguado and Yago Santiago both carrying injuries. 

Match Odds: 

Sevilla are priced at 21/20 to build on their victory last time out, with another three points here. You can also back the Draw at 9/4, while Elche are on offer at 11/4 to claim a victory that would push them into the top three. 

If you're expecting goals, you can back Both teams to score at 1/1. Meanwhile, Over 2.5 goals is available at 6/5. Sevilla are also priced at 6/5 to score over 1.5 goals, a winning bet in two of their three fixtures so far. 

Alternatively, if you like the look of Elche, you can back the visitors to win either half at 11/8. The newly promoted side are priced at 14/1 to win both halves, and really pile on the misery for the already disgruntled home fans. 

With Adams an injury concern, Isaac Romero is likely to lead the line for Sevilla. He's priced at 9/2 to score first, and 13/8 to score anytime. Meanwhile, Mir is on offer at 5/2 to score anytime for Elche against his parent club. He has netted in each of their last two games. 

You can bet on this match via our Sevilla vs Elche Odds page on the main betfred.com website with all the latest prices and full betting markets.

Bet 1 - Double Chance - Draw or Elche @ 4/5 

There was already plenty of reason to fear for Sevilla, but now the departures of their best centre-back and biggest goal threat have been confirmed, they look like they could be in serious trouble this term. Their new signings mostly have a short-term feel to them, but it may still take time for Almeyda to put all of his new pieces together, and build a competitive side. 

Elche have looked impressive in their opening games. There's a clarity to their football, and they already seem to believe they fully belong at this level. The visitors have little to fear in this fixture either, and I can see them having a fair amount of the play, and getting something from it. I'm backing Draw or Elche in the Double Chance market at 4/5. 

Bet 2 - Under 3.5 goals & Alfonso González 1+ shots on target @ 13/8 

Overall, this doesn't look like a game that is going to produce many goals. Elche's build-up play is quite patient, and unless Sevilla really throw caution to the wind and leave them space to exploit, the away team may not get into too many good positions to get shots away. 

Meanwhile, Sevilla still look a bit short in the striker department, with Romero only netting four times in 31 La Liga appearances last term. Their main threat may come on the left flank with Alfon, who had three shots on debut at Girona a fortnight ago. He also averaged 3.02 shots per 90 minutes in La Liga at Celta Vigo last season, hitting the target with over 40% of them. 

Given that, I'm using the Bet Builder to back Under 3.5 goals and Alfon to have 1+ shots on target at 13/8. 

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