Sevilla and Valencia CF have named their starting lineups for their LALIGA EA Sports meeting at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, and Corberán has gone back to a back four. Valencia made three changes from the defeat against Barça, with Dimitrievski behind Arnau Martínez, Pepelu, Tárrega and Gayà; Dieng, Ugrinic and Guerra in midfield; and Otorbi, Sato and Danjuma up front.
That is the immediate reason the match is being searched now: the teams are locked in, the tactical choices are clear and the league game is about to begin. Sevilla answered with five changes from the draw against Espanyol, sending out Vlachodimos; Juan Iglesias, Castrín, Kike Salas and Suazo; Fofana, Agoumé, Sierra and Correia; with Stassin and Isaac Romero leading the line.
The selection tells the story of Corberán’s week as much as the fixture does. He has moved away from the shape used in the defeat against Barça, a switch that suggests a desire for more control and more protection without waiting for a later adjustment. For Sevilla, the five changes point to a reset after the draw against Espanyol, with both sides arriving at the same match through different kinds of urgency.
Behind the lineup sheet, Valencia are still carrying injury questions that matter beyond this one night. Mouctar Diakhaby has a lesion in the long adductor muscle of his left leg, suffered during the match against Barcelona in Mestalla, and the club has not given a grade for the injury or a recovery timetable. That leaves open the possibility that he could be out for more than one month, while Rubén Vargas traveled to Madrid on Thursday morning for a specialized medical review of his right knee after the pain would not go away.
Corberán has tried to keep the noise around him outside the dressing room. He dismissed Rodri’s words as unfortunate and said they did not come from respect, but he also said he was focused on what depended on him and on Valencia CF having a great match. That message sits beside a harsher reality: Valencia did not start the season well in a demanding run of three matches in a week and then against FC Barcelona, even if Corberán reminded listeners that last season’s second half matched the club’s highest points total of the last six years.
So the next step is straightforward. Sevilla-Valencia is not just underway in name; it is the first live test of Corberán’s back four, Sevilla’s reshuffle and Valencia’s depth under strain. Whether Vargas is available for the next match and how soon Diakhaby returns will matter after the final whistle, but tonight the answer begins with the lineups already on the board.
