vs. Levante on 15th of September at 6 PM and vs. Athletic Bilbao on 18th of September at 5:30 PM. Both friendlies will be played in Pinatar Arena.
Then 6 days after the second friendly, we’ll have the match vs. Bayern Munich on 24th of September at 9 PM, which will take place in Puskás Aréna - Budapest, Hungary.
The kits are already revealed and so far we have signed: Suso (21 million Euros, mandatory purchase after qualifying for CL), Oscar Rodriguez (13,5 million + variables) and Ivan Rakitic (1,5 million + variables). While we have sold Banega (free, to Al Shabab), Kjaer (3,5 million, to Milan) and Marc Gual (undisclosed, to Alcorcon). We have loaned out Aburjania to Twente for another season; Arana to Atletico Mineiro for another season; Juan Berrocal to Mirandes and Rony Lopes to Nice for a 1 million Euros fee.
We will start the 2020-21 La Liga season from the third fixture, after the first two are postponed due to us winning the EL. So we’ll kick start from the third round, away at Cadiz on 27th of September, then moving on to Levante at home on 30th of September and then visiting Camp Nou to face Barca on 4th of October before the next international break.
The 1st fixture at Atletico is set to be played in early January, while the 2nd vs Elche is yet to be determined. It’s gonna be interesting what our standing in the league will look like with 2 games in hand for nearly half of it.
How do you guys think our main formation will look like in the 2020-21 season?
Of course, there could be changes in form etc. and we might have new signings and/or departures, however, given the current squad, I would go with this formation (4-3-3, assuming Lope won’t change his philosophy):
Bono
Navas - Kounde - Carlos - Escudero (a new LB will join obviously, or we retrieve Reguilon)
Oscar - Fernando - Rakitic
Suso - De Jong - Ocampos (although I’d rather have Ocampos playing on the right, but unless we sign a quality left winger, then we’d have to go this route)
To spice it up, we’d ideally sign a decent striker and a decent LB. Sure, if we let go of the likes of Diego Carlos or Ocampos then we’d have to replace, but even without extra departures, we still miss those pieces of the puzzle, if we want to aim high this season.
I’m sure he’ll stick with the tried & tested 4-3-3. I’d like to see him experiment with the 4-2-3-1 some more. He’s done that late in a few games where Munir would come in and Suso would shift inside. It’s also the ideal role for Óliver & Óscar. We have taken that shape a few times as Banega usually had a free role, but his tendency to play from deep often left that spot vacated.
Here’s some non-professional scouting reports on Sevilla in the latter stages of the season. Rakitic will take Banega’s spot but he will be more advanced, I also expect Oscar to play in the hole sometimes. Interesting to see how things can be mixed up.
Today was Banega´s offical goodbye at the club. Unforgetable player really. The videos, future wishes of the past and current players and his last press conference, honestly made me shed a tear, seeing Ever like that. It has been a pleasure having him here, bless you Ever.
I agree with Monchi, it’s a close call but Eva us best player I’ve seen in a Sevilla shirt. In both spells to win a 3rd Europa seals it. A truly class act, immense ability and tenacious character. A great great player. My top 3 players are Banega, Rakitic and Renato. What a wonderful tribute by Monchi today… Gracias para todos Mago
I know I am stretching but interesting Reguilon’s number is still left available.