Sevilla can climb out of the drop zone if they beat Real Sociedad on Monday, May 4, when the teams meet at 20:00 BST at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. The hosts go into the game after five defeats from their last six matches, while Sociedad arrive with only one win in their last three league games.
That is the weight of this one for Sevilla. They have taken just three points from their last five league games and have failed to score in three of their last six, but they have also been hard to beat at home, losing only one of their last six matches at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and winning two while drawing three. A victory would lift them out of immediate danger and give them a result they have badly needed after back-to-back defeats, including a 2-0 loss at Levante on April 23 and a 2-1 defeat at Osasuna three days later.
There have been brief signs of life. Sevilla beat a much-changed Atletico Madrid side 2-1 on 11 April, but that result has not shifted the broader picture. The club were already staring at the possibility of a first relegation since 2000 and now face a game that carries real consequences in the table, not just in confidence.
Real Sociedad come in from a different place, with their season already secured in one respect and still open in another. Their Copa del Rey final win over Atletico on 18 April guaranteed Europa League football next season, and they can still mathematically qualify for the Champions League. But their recent form has been flat enough to keep the door open for Sevilla. Sociedad lost 1-0 at home to Getafe four days after lifting the cup, then drew 3-3 at Rayo Vallecano last time out after leading 3-1 in the 76th minute.
That collapse at Rayo summed up their run. Only four clubs, including Sevilla, have taken fewer points from their last five league games than Sociedad, and their home-away split tells a similar story: 28 points from 17 home games, but only 15 from 16 away from home. For a side with European football already in hand, Monday's match is less about the prize they have and more about whether they can stop the slide before the season closes. For Sevilla, it is the sort of night that can change the mood around a club in one result.