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It could be an emotional night at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as Sevilla play their first home game since the tragic death of midfielder Antonio Puerta.

Juande Ramos' men have had much time for refelction, owing to the recent International programme and the cancellation of their fixture with Osasuna a fortnight ago. Now they are ready to prove that last season's achievements were no fluke, and resume their La Liga campaign.

Andalucian neighbours Recreativo Huelva make the short trip to Seville, eager not to succumb to the dreaded 'second-season syndrome'. The newly-promoted side surprised all last season by planting themselves firmly in the top ten, almost from the get-go. They even had the audacity to hit three goals without reply at the Bernabau late last december. So much for Christmas spirit.

FORM :

Sevilla - Aside from a European Super Cup loss to AC Milan, in the aftermath of the Puerta tragedy, Sevilla have started the season in blistering form. A 6-3 two-legged King's Cup victory over Real Madrid was followed by a 4-1 destruction of nine-man Getafe, and a comfortable 6-1 aggregate victory over AEK Athens to reach the Champions League Group stages.

Recreativo - Successive 1-1 draws against Real Betis and Getafe are about all we have to go on (aside from the succession of drawn pre-season games). A decent start, however the draw at Getafe was a little disappointing, given the fact they squandered a lead late-on against only ten men.

TEAM NEWS :

Sevilla: Sevilla are almost at full-strength, with the exception of skipper Javi Navarro and left-winger Adriano. Ramos' squad is so rich in quality now, that two or three injuries is never likely to disrupt preparations too much. The much-coveted coach has molded a highly effective unit which doesn't rely on big-name players to function to its full-potential. In-form strikers Luis Fabiano and Freddy Kanoute should be raring to go. While the classy Daniel Alves can finally concentrate on the situation at hand after a frenzy of transfer speculation, and renew his devastating partnership with Jesus Navas - the tricky winger who famously confessed to feeling homesick when playing away from the 'Pizjuan' stadium.

Recreativo: New Recreativo coach Victor Munez has somewhat of a selection headache, with star striker Florent Sinama-Pognolle missing through suspension. His partner-in-crime (and scorer of 50 goals in four seasons at Huelva) Uche was flogged to Getafe in the summer, leaving a dearth of striking options for Munoz to choose from. Midfielder Javi Guerrero could well be called upon to plug the gap.

CONCLUSION: Sevilla should have too much for their Andalucian rivals, and have been well-supported already from opening quotes of 1/2. Rather than chance the handicaps, a better option could be to take a look at Paddy Power's 'win to nil' market. The appeal here is based on the absence of two players who contributed more than a third of Recreativo's goals last term. Specifically Sinama-Pognolle who top-scored with 12, and is, up to now, the only player to get on the scoresheet this time around.

Recommendation: Sevilla 2pts to win to nil to 11/10. Paddy Power.

Ilunga