Sevilla v Espanyol Preview – Saturday, 4PM GolTV

By: Anthony | October 24th, 2009

04-SevillaFC-Mallorca 04 It seems like just yesterday we were facing off against an Espanyol side who was considered one of Europe’s strongest sides who handled their business under the radar. That legendary match two years ago in Hampden Park where we needed penalties to triumph is definitely one for the ages but much has changed since then. Espanyol is no longer that side who is considered when speaking of European competition but rather a very mediocre La Liga mid-table one.

Of course nothing can be taken for granted in La Liga seeing as it is the best league in the world but let’s make one thing clear – anything less than three points at home today will be a massive disappointment.

Coming off a midweek triumph in Europe will undoubtedly add to our confidence but at the same time we have to be careful because success is a dangerous thing. We saw what happened after we beat Real; we came back from the international break and got shot back down to reality by Depor.

What will make this an even more difficult task is the amount of absences we will have from our regular squad and starting XI. We have several key players out due to illness, knocks picked up against Stuttgart midweek and longer term injuries as well. It’s funny how just a bit over a week ago I was saying how Manolo has a selection headache because of how well everyone was playing, but now it seems like he’ll have a selection headache for a whole other reason.

The biggest blow to us is that both Luis Fabiano and Ivica Dragutinovic will be out due to viral infections as will Frédéric Kanouté due to a minor knock he picked up midweek against Stuttgart which he has been unable to fully recover from. Adriano will also be out of the squad for what is projected to be about a month as he limped off in Germany due to a pulled muscle. Last but not least, Andrés Palop will remain out of the squad due to his minor injury meaning Javi Varas will start his third consecutive match.

Due to all these injuries a few call ups have been made to the squad including Manuel Redondo, José Carlos and last but not least, Chevantón. Yes, I said it – CHEVA.

He used to be a personal favourite of mine as he would always come on and score – he was like the ultimate supersub. Obviously with the competition we have up front this year he is struggling to see minutes on the pitch and rightfully so but now is a good a time as any to prove his worth. Injuries never really helped his cause as when he would get an opportunity to play, he often got injured and wouldn’t play again till weeks later. Having said all this, he probably will not start or possibly even play at all as I expect Negredo to start up top alongside Koné.

It will be very interesting indeed to see how Jiménez assembles our starting XI tonight with so many key players out. Just so you have an idea of who you might see tonight, the squad will look something like this:
Javi Varas, Dani Jiménez, Konko, Sergio Sánchez, Squillaci, Lolo, Escudé, Fernando Navarro, Redondo, Zokora, Duscher, Renato, Romaric, José Carlos, Navas, Capel, Perotti, Chevantón, Koné, Negredo.

Even with this squad I believe we have the depth to come away with all three points. With our passionate fans behind us for 90 minutes, we should expect nothing less than a victory at home.

¡¡VAMOS MI SEVILLA!!

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