LOOKING TO GET BACK TO WINNING WAYS AWAY FROM HOME

After a key win at home to West Ham United in the UEFA Europa League in midweek, Sevilla FC are back in league action and are looking to win their first away match since 3rd January. Today's match is a first trip to Vallecas, always a difficult place to go to, since August 2018. This is also the first time that Lopetegui is taking his Sevilla side to Rayo - he played in goal for the Madrid side between 1997 and 2002, his final club before retiring. They would later give him his first managerial role two seasons later, in the 2003/04 season. Lopetegui is fully aware of what it means to play at the stadium, and the reasons why it's a particularly testing away ground. 

As for team selection, the same seven injured players for the West Ham match are still unavailable, while Joan Jordán misses out today due to picking up a fifth booking. Despite all this, Delaney is back, after he missed Thursday's match due to suspension. With Atlético de Madrid and Barcelona hitting form and climbing up the table, the team must win away today to maintain their advantage over those two sides. The last trip to Vallecas, in August 2018 with Pablo Machín, ended in a 4-1 win for Sevilla in the opening match of the season, with a hat-trick from André Silva and a goal from Franco Vázquez.

Isi and Álvaro García are suspended for the hosts

As for the hosts, Andoni Iraola's team are looking for this match to be a turning point. After an exciting start to the season, which saw the newly-promoted side lie in the UEFA Champions League places for a few weeks, they now urgently need to win again to avoid any problems. They haven't won in the league since the final match of 2021, a 2-0 win at home to Alavés. Since then, they have picked up just one point from a possible 24, a home draw against Betis. However, they did win in the cup against Mirandés, Girona and Mallorca, and went very close to defeating Betis in the semi finals. Isi and Álvaro García are suspended, while Falcao, Unai López and Saveljich are doubts. 

Juan Martínez Munuera, from Valencia, is the referee for today's clash. This will be his 29th Sevilla match, meaning he will have refereed no other side on more occasions. So far, Sevilla have won 14, drawn four and lost ten when he has been in charge. This season's matches with the Valencian official were the cup win in Andratx, and a 1-0 win at home to Getafe. Rayo have never won with this referee, with four draws and eight defeats so far. The only match this season was the away leg of their Copa del Rey semi final. Jesús Gil Manzano is on VAR duty.