Gol de Mercado en el último Sevilla-Betis en Nervión
Pre-match reports

A LOCAL BATTLE TO KICK-START THE NEW YEAR

06/01/2018
The 47th Sevilla FC-Real Betis clash on Sevillista soil. An always exciting and unpredictable battle with even more significance on Montella's La Liga - and Seville Derby - debut. Both teams come into the game having lost in the league to Basque teams. The hosts look for their fifth consecutive win in Nervión in a league derby - a run which has not been repeated for 38 years

There can be only one objective: win as a gift to all Sevillistas on Three Kings' Day in Nervión and to Vincenzo Montella who makes his home, Seville derby and La Liga debut. The challenge is fearsome, especially following a bitter end to 2017 - where the Nervionenses lost twice on the road and drew at home to Levante midway through December. Our last league victory was now one month ago in a 2-0 win at home against Deportivo. A win is needed and beyond picking up three points, Sevilla will want to make a good account of themselves and begin to amend what is an unfortunate goal difference in league competition - with 20 goals scored and 22 conceded (the only team in the top 6 with a negative goal difference). 

After a bitter end to 2017, a win is needed in Nervión 

Every fixture in the biggest rivalry in the Seville is it's own world and exempt from statistics but patterns may have some importance. After two identical losses in 2009 and 2012 (both 1-2), the Nervionenses have dug their heels in and strung together four consecutive wins. Sevilla famously won 5-1 in the return fixture of 2012, and then 4-0 in 2013; in 2016 the run continued, with 2-0 and 1-0 wins that season - including goals from Gabriel Mercado. A record of 12 goals scored compared to just one conceded in those four games.

Should Montella's Sevilla achieve another win, they will equal a record that has not been repeated since 1979 (38 years ago) - i.e. five consecutive derby wins. The history books are favourable to the hosts in Nervión - with the hosts picking up 29 wins, six draws and 11 losses in the derby. Though historic achievements such records will not win matches. 

Mercado has scored in two Seville derbies - both in 2016/17 in Sevilla wins

In defence, Mercado had the honour of scoring in both derbies in the 2016/17 season. In February 2017 he scored the equaliser in a game Iborra would go on to win (1-2); in the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán (in the last derby to take place in Nervión in September 2016) he scored the winning goal in the side's 1-0 win. Goals have been more equally shared between Sevilla players this La Liga season, with Ben Yedder (4), Muriel (3), Banega, Lenglet, Ganso and Nolito (all having picked up two each) finding the back of the net for the Nervionenses; Betis, meanwhile, are without their top scorer Sanabria (7), but have León (5), Joaquín (3), Tello and Feddal (2) in their ranks. 

Quique Setién's side has been up and down in their last eight away La Liga matches. Two impressive wins (one 0-1 win in September in the Bernabéu and a 0-2 win in the Rosaleda), were balanced out by three successive losses (1-0, 5-0, 1-0) on Canary Island soil, against Eibar and in Cornellá. A 4-4 draw in the Anoeta encapsulated Betis' inconsistency, though two losses to begin the season (in Camp Nou and at the Cerámica) gave hints of vulnerability on the road. Setién doesn't have the best record against Sevilla in the league, with three losses as coach of Las Palmas, and a record of one goal in favour and five against. Sevilla, so far, have been impressive at home this season, with six wins and two draws. The only weakness that could be levelled is the team's goal-scoring prowess at home, with 13 in eight in the league.

The legacy of the Sánchez-Pizjuán as well as the Sevilla faithful's unmatched passion and support may be enough to push the home side over the line

If every Gran Derbi comes with its own special connotations and motivations, the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán may be one of the greatest - with Sevilla holding an unprecedented 82% win record in Nervión. With Montella hopefully breathing new life into Sevilla, the home side might just have one more motivation to push themselves over the line. But as is always the case in one of the greatest derbies in football, an electric atmosphere may also play its part. Should - with respect to the opponents - the unmatched energy and passion of the Sevilla faithful spark the imagination of the home side, it could be a magical day of football in Nervión for Sevilla Football Club.