Deportivo A Coruña host Sevilla at the Riazor on 16 September 2026, an early La Liga fixture between two sides outperforming expectations after promotion and overhaul. Deportivo sit sixth with nine points from five matches while Sevilla are fifth with ten, both largely unbeaten going into the weekend. For Deportivo, though, this is also about something older: they haven't beaten Sevilla in the league since 2009, a wait that survived relegation, years in the lower divisions and a long climb back. There's no meaningful senior head to head between coaches Antonio Hidalgo and Luis García Plaza, though García Plaza worked with Sevilla B and knows the club's structures well enough.
Deportivo are unbeaten in their last five league games (D-W-W-D-D), with narrow wins over Villarreal and Valencia and draws against Getafe bookending the run. Sevilla's sequence (W-D-L-W-W) is less tidy but trending upward, which makes them awkward visitors despite the uneven record.
Antonio Hidalgo, in charge since 1 July 2025, has built a young squad that thrives on attacking transitions, though he goes into this one without Noé Carrillo (ankle) and Rubén Vargas (knee) simultaneously, stripped of both defensive and midfield cover at once, leaning harder than usual on collective pressing to compensate for those absences. Luis García Plaza, who replaced Matías Almeyda in March 2026, has focused on keeping shape in midfield. He is also missing a Rubén Vargas through the same knee problem (a separate player from Deportivo's absentee, despite the identical name) and that absence weakens Sevilla's wide attacking options.
Deportivo build through aggressive wing backs and a creative core designed to find Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has five goals and two assists in five games, numbers that should make Sevilla's defenders uncomfortable. Marc Casadó and Lorenzo Amatucci run the midfield and without Carrillo and Vargas there is less defensive cover behind Deportivo's high press if it breaks down. Sevilla's answer comes through Lucien Agoumé and Giorgi Kochorashvili, who look to press and move it quickly to Chidera Ejuke and Robbie Ure on the counter. García Plaza will have his side defending in a mid block and looking to hit Ejuke in behind, a plan that suits them given how Deportivo's high line can be exposed by direct running. The individual battle to watch is Aubameyang against Sevilla's central defenders: if Deportivo keep their set piece threat live and find him in the right spaces, those five goals in five games tell you the rest.
Sevilla have dominated this fixture historically, winning ten of roughly eighteen meetings to Deportivo's two, with six draws. Deportivo haven't won any of their last thirteen or more encounters and the most recent league clash in 2017-18 finished 0-0. That history doesn't mean Deportivo can't win today but Sevilla's players know the record even if nobody says it out loud.
Deportivo's set piece delivery is sharp, particularly with Vargas absent from Sevilla's defensive rotation. Sevilla will look to win second balls in midfield and release Ejuke quickly and Ejuke running in behind is the most direct route Sevilla have to goal in this fixture. García Plaza's side need to stay organised long enough for the early home pressure to level off.
Sevilla to win 2-1. Aubameyang's form is real and Deportivo should score but Sevilla's midfield organisation is strong enough to contain the worst of it. The same midfield structure that has kept them competitive in away fixtures this season should be enough to take three points without being at their best and Deportivo's double absence gives Sevilla enough gaps on the break to make the difference, extending that painful head to head record for the home side.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
