Sports Mole previews Friday’s friendly clash between Sevilla and Al Ittihad, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sevilla will be looking to end their poor start to pre-season when they square off against Al Ittihad on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Pro League side make the trip to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan looking to regain some momentum after their disappointing 2023-24 campaign.
Match preview
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After two successive finishes in the bottom half of the La Liga table, Sevilla are motivated to regain their rightful place in the upper echelons of Spanish football.
Whether that is an achievable goal remains to be seen given the profile of player that has left the club during the off-season.
Youssef En-Nesyri moving to Fenerbahce represents the biggest blow, Los Nervionenses desperately requiring reinforcements in the final third of the pitch.
Another central-forward will be acquired in time, the current focus of Quique Sanchez Flores being on trying to bounce back from two friendly defeats in a row.
Sevilla first lost 2-0 to South African outfit Orlando Pirates before a trip to Portugal to face Sporting Lisbon ended in a 2-1 defeat.
Opponents Al Ittihad are based in Spain for as many as four friendlies, the first versus Elche concluding in a 2-0 loss.
Two more are to follow this contest with Farense and Real Betis their opponents, but Laurent Blanc‘s attention will be solely on this contest.
The 2022-23 Saudi Pro League champions are in the process of adding to their squad, the expectation being that Moussa Diaby will join Houssem Aouar in signing for the club.
Nevertheless, the current crop of players, which included Fabinho and Karim Benzema, will be expected to rediscover some form ahead of their second season in the Middle East.
Sevilla friendly form:
Al Ittihad friendly form:
Team News
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Sevilla’s starting lineup will not be too dissimilar to the team which was named from the opening whistle against Sporting.
Saul Niguez should continue in the team after his transfer from Atletico Madrid, with Isaac Romero leading the line.
Goalkeepers Orjan Nyland and Marko Dmitrovic miss out through thigh and finger injuries respectively.
As for Al Ittihad, no team news was revealed from the Elche game, leaving it unclear who may start this contest.
Midfielder N’Golo Kante will definitely not feature having represented France up until the semi-final stage at Euro 2024.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Flores; Benavides, Gudelj, Salas, Pedrosa; Saul, Sow, Suso; Ocampos, Romero, Ejuke
We say: Sevilla 2-2 Al Ittihad
With Al Ittihad having already lost to La Liga opposition within the last week, Sevilla will fancy their chances of victory. However, we feel that an entertaining share of the spoils will play out on Friday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.