THE IMPRESSIVE AWAY RUN FACES A STERN TEST AT THE MESTALLA

26th February 2012. It is now nearly nine years since Sevilla FC won at the Mestalla, a stadium which has resisted the Nervionenses for all these years in which Valencia CF has been a direct rival in the fight for European qualifications. Not even in 2014, in what is probably the sweetest defeat in the club's history, could Valencia be defeated, when they could not secure their ticket to Turin. In the last two seasons, the team have performed impressively at the Mestalla and could well have taken all three points, but Sarabia's goal in 2018 and Ocampos's goal in 2019 were not enough to break the winless run away at Valencia, as they equalised late on in both matches. 

Sevilla are looking to finally break their Mestalla duck, which would allow them to get back to winning ways at the first attempt after the painful draw on Saturday, where a late Valladolid goal stopped the Nervionenses from taking all three points. A win today would also set a new record for consecutive away wins in the 21st century. Julen Lopetegui's side have won five on the bounce, which equalled the current record of five straight away wins, set by Unai Emery in 14/15. Three points today are also vital in the battle for European qualification, with Sevilla sitting just outside of the qualification places. 

Lopetegui confirmed the availability of Jesús Navas and the recovery of Munir

The manager was able to bring two pieces of good news to his pre-match press conference yesterday. Both Jesús Navas and Munir El Haddadi are available and have travelled, so they could well feature this evening. Both Vaclík and Escudero are still injured, while Gudelj and Fernando will receive a one-match suspension if they get booked at the Mestalla, which means they would miss the final match of 2020. Valencia have none of their players banned for tonight's match, but Cillessen, Toni Lato, Guillamón and ex-Sevillista Kevin Gameiro are all injured. Racic is also a doubt for the clash, but the youngster Yunus Musah is available. After an inconsistent start to the season, Valencia picked up a hard-fought point at the Camp Nou on Saturday, which places them one point above the relegation zone and five below Sevilla. 

The referee in charge of the match will be Valentín Pizarro Gómez. Strangely, the last time he officiated either side ended in a 1-1 draw against Real Valladolid. Sevilla's draw was at home last season, while Valencia's draw was at the Zorrilla. The referee also took charge of Valencia's goalless draw in the cup against Cultura Leonesa last season, where Los Ché progressed after a penalty shootout. This is Pizzaro Gómez's second season of officiating in the top flight.