5 biggest fixtures for Sevilla in the 2022-23 La Liga season
La Liga has announced the fixture list for the 2022/23 season. The campaign will begin on August 14th, with 2021/22 fourth-placed La Liga side Sevilla playing against Osasuna away. It will then end on June fourth, with Sevillistas travelling to Real Sociedad. The first Seville Derby takes place at the Estadio Benito Villamarín on November 6th and the second one takes place at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on May 21st.
Sevilla will be hoping that they can build on their successful 2021/22 season when the upcoming La Liga campaign comes around. Julien Lopetegui‘s side will also be back in the Champions League for the 2022/23 season after they secured a fourth-place finish last season.
Although the schedule for the upcoming season has been announced, the exact dates of the games have only been set until October. The World Cup in Qatar in the middle of the season will complicate matters further and dates will thus change. However, we more or less know about when the rest of the matches of the campaign will be set, as Los Nervionenses look to win their maiden league title since their only league victory in the 1945/46 season.
So let’s examine the biggest matches of the upcoming season for the Sevillistas, taking a look at the five most important fixtures based on the opponent –
#5 Athletic Club Bilbao vs Sevilla – 26th April
A trip to San Mames will be one of the tough games for Sevilla this season
Nobody likes taking a trip to the Lion’s Den of San Mames, and while the Sevillistas have usually done a good job of surviving against the hard-nosed Athletic Club in the Basque country, a battle against Inaki Williams and Co. at the fag end of the season is never pleasant.
Bilbao has consistently been just off the pace of the Europa League sides, but as we saw in the La Liga of the 2020/21 season, they are capable of beating Atleti at their own den. It is never a walk in the park for Sevilla against Bilbao, even when they do get the three points.
#4 Villarreal vs Sevilla – 18th September
If fans in Europe were sleeping on Unai Emery’s Villarreal before, they are not doing so now. The Yellow Submarine have not been particularly impressive in La Liga recently, but they have always fought hard against Sevilla, usually grinding out draws. In Europe, they reached the Champions League semi-finals last season after winning the Europa League against Manchester United in 2020/21 to qualify for the continent’s premier competition.
Emery has been a difficult manager for Julen Lopetegui to deal with in La Liga, so expect another tough battle between these two prestigious Spanish sides at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
This tie will also be important for the mere fact that this game can resonate with Sevilla’s chances of finishing in the top four as this game is followed by two tough games in the league against Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. Sevilla who are always in the running for a Champions League place will head to this game requiring a win to lift their hopes of keeping the season up and running.
#3 Valencia vs Sevilla – 16th April
Valencia has been one heck of an opponent for Sevilla lately, and the Mestalla is no joke. Los Nervionenses held the Mestalla in the 2021/22 season 1-1, doing everything they could to outlast the Bats.
A trip to the Mestalla in April, though, is the definition of high stakes. A slip-up against a team that will be competing with Atleti and Villarreal for a European finish at the fag end of the season would be devastating to Julen Lopetegui’s title hopes. Sevilla faithful must circle this match as much as they would circle Seville Derby because Valencia at the Mestalla is a different animal. They go from “decent” to “great” when they face Sevilla in their house.
#2 Barcelona vs Sevilla – 2nd February
Playing Barcelona at Camp Nou will definitely be an encounter to watch out for this season
The second meeting between FC Barcelona and Sevilla will take place during the time when the Champions League knockout stage would be going in full swing with the first leg of the Round of 16 taking place at that time, adding more stress to the schedule due to this encounter.
As with numerous seasons off late, this encounter happens to act frequently as one of the big games for the Sevillistas, with the two teams representing the heavyweights of the league and the same can happen in the upcoming season as well.
Though Sevilla has a poor record against Barca, again, there is no such thing as an easy game against the Catalans.
#1 Sevilla vs Real Madrid – 28th May
And the second-to-last Matchday of the 2022/23 La Liga season is the final one of ten matches for Los Hispalenses fans to keep a close eye on. Real Madrid has completed wild comebacks at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, recently coming back from down 2-0 to win 3-2 against Sevilla in the 2021/22 season. Rodrygo Goes and Toni Kroos were among the heroes of that match.
Sevilla were Real’s top title contenders in that aforementioned match at the Sanchez Pizjuan last season, and perhaps Julen Lopetegui’s side will be in the mix in 2023, too. As with La Real, that isn’t likely, but it is plausible. And even if it isn’t the case, they can play spoiler. Remember, Real Madrid dropped points, needing a furious comeback just to tie Sevilla in the 2020/21 season. They could go on to lose La Liga on the last Matchday due to a late Luis Suarez goal for Atletico Madrid.