Sevilla go into their opener with new boys Rayo Vallecano on Sunday confident about keeping Real Sociedad target Pablo Sarabia.

Rayo boss Michel on his team making a ‘dream’ return to La Liga: “I’m excited and I feel a special kind of motivation.

“We make our return to Primera at our stadium. The fans have very much been hooked and excited and you can see it through our season-ticket sales

“Our dream begins on Sunday. We’ll try to have a great game so we can start well. Vallecas must be a reference for us to play at the highest level and pick up as many points as possible.”

Sevilla boss Pablo Machin on his side’s chances of keeping Sarabia: “Sarabia is important for me because he wants to stay at Sevilla.

“I’m calm, I see him very involved and he told me he wanted to stay. Guaranteeing things at this stage is complicated, but what is for certain is that he has a contract.

“The club have done their bit so that he can sign a new deal. He’s asked for time to think about it, but all the indications suggest he will stay with us.

“The club have been as generous as Sarabia has on the field, and I think that when two parties want to reach an agreement, it’s normal that they do eventually, but I won’t put a timeframe on it.”

Rayo Vallecano (probable): Alberto Garcia; Advincula, Amat, Dorado, Alex Moreno; Pozo, Elustondo, Trejo; Kakuta, Guerra, Embarba

Injuries/suspensions: Comesana (S) Velazquez (I)

Sevilla (probable): Vaclik; Mercado, Kjaer, Sergi Gomez; Navas, Banega, Mesa, Escudero; Sarabia, Muriel, Franco Vazquez

Injuries/suspensions: Arana, Pareja (I)

Referee: Mateu Lahoz

Previous meeting: Rayo 2-2 Sevilla

Venue: Vallecas

Kick-off time: 19:15 BST/20:15 local time

Tags Pablo Sarabia
La Liga - Club News