15 CLEAN SHEETS OUT OF 30 GAMES SO FAR THIS SEASON

Julen Lopetegui's Sevilla FC have impressed on many fronts this season; but if there is one word to sum them up it would be balance. Something that has been a main component of his side so far is that ability to have the ball and attack, without conceding too many chances and, for the most part, being able to leave their clean sheets in tact. In this way, with a defence as sturdy as the one that Sevilla FC are showing, once the attack gets into full flow, the team might be able to fulfil their expectations.

Leaving to the side for one moment the drastic improvement of the latter, with players such as Nolito and De Jong getting on the scoresheet regularly in recent weeks, today we have to underline the importance of the backline. With Saturday's 2-0 home win over Granada CF, Sevilla have now kept 15 clean sheets in the 30 games in which they have played so far this season. In La Liga alone, Sevilla have kept a clean sheet in 9 of their 21 fixtures. As for the other competitions: they have kept four clean sheets in the UEFA Europa League and two in the Copa del Rey.

In the last 2 seasons, they have kept more clean sheets than in the last decade in total

Looking back on previous seasons, it's difficult to find statistics that come close to the ones that Sevilla FC are churning out this season. In fact, this average of 50% wipes the floor with any other season in the previous ten seasons. Taking into account all of the competitions, the last Sevilla FC side that in some way resembles this year's outfit, is that of the 2008/09 season. During this campaign, Sevilla FC finished the season by keeing 24 clean sheets out of 52 games - an average of 46.1%. On the contrary, during the 2012/13 season, the team only managed to keep 13 clean sheets out of 46 games - two less that the current side have managed, in 16 fewer games.

If we were to focus solely on La Liga, the nine clean sheets that the side have already managed this season, equals the record from two previous seasons over the last decade (in 17 fewer games). These were the seasons of 2012/13 and 2013/14. In the aforementioned 2008/09 season, Sevilla FC finished off the league campaign with 18 clean sheets, a figure which equates to 47.4%. All of these figures allow Sevilla FC to keep pushing on all fronts. Currently, they sit third in La Liga; are into the Last 16 of the Copa del Rey; and have a Europa League Round of 32 clash coming up in just under a month's time.