Crystal Palace "have to be in the present" after suffering a 2-0 defeat to West Ham at Selhurst Park, boss Oliver Glasner has said.

The Eagles routed the Hammers 5-2 at the same venue in April as part of six victories in a seven-match unbeaten run to finish the 2023-24 season.

However, goals from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen consigned Palace to defeat on this occasion, leaving Glasner's men without a point through two games of the infant Premier League season.

A frustrated Glasner said Palace had to forget the strong end they had to last season.

"We can't dream of what we were doing three months ago," Glasner told Ed Aarons of the Guardian.

"It's now up to us to keep calm and not be too disappointed. We will sleep really badly tonight but tomorrow the sun will rise."

Palace sold defender Joachim Andersen to Fulham this week and also saw Michael Olise, a goalscorer against the Hammers in April, depart for Bayern Munich earlier in the transfer window.

And Glasner acknowledged his squad could do with a couple of extra bodies.

"We have lost seven and brought in three," he said

"Maybe we need one or two. But this is what we're talking about, to have a good balance in the team. Let's see what happens next week."

Speaking to the club’s in-house media, Glasner said there were still plenty of positives to take.

"I think we played okay. It's maybe not the top level, but it's okay, we created chances, we created situations," he said"

"We have to stay positive, we have to stay together, especially when the time is not so sunny."

Victorious manager Julen Lopetegui, meanwhile, was in a positive mood after his side claimed their first three points under his leadership.

"It feels good to win and we're happy to achieve these three points," he told in-house West Ham media.

While the Hammers had much of the play for the second half, Palace were not without their moments throughout the 90 minutes.

Ebere Eze stood out, with his best effort rattling the crossbar shortly before half-time, while Odsonne Edouard was also a danger.

"This stadium is always difficult to win in, against a very good team. They have good players, a good coach and good ideas," said Lopetegui.

"We have to defend well to give us the platform to win. We had to be together to overcome the bad moments.

"We did and were resilient. We worked so hard for the result."

Julen Lopetegui has his first win in charge of West Ham as a resounding second-half performance earned a 2-0 victory away to Crystal Palace.

Having made a slow start, West Ham were able to ride out the pressure and claim the points thanks to goals from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen.

Eberechi Eze had chances to open the scoring for Palace in the first half but struggled to hit the target before Soucek drilled his opener through a crowded box in the 67th minute.

Bowen then punished the hosts by rounding off another quick counter-attack with a fine finish five minutes later to rule out Palace's hopes of a first win this season.

West Ham are off the mark, with their three points moving them up to seventh, while Palace are down in 18th without a point so far.

Data Debrief: Lopetegui off the mark

After a disappointing start to life with the Hammers in the Premier League, Lopetegui made sure he got his first three points on the board sooner rather than later.

This is the first clean sheet that West Ham have kept in the competition since a 0-0 draw with Brighton in January, ending a 19-game run without a shutout in the top-flight.

Meanwhile, since the start of last season, Eze has recorded at least three shots and created three chances in eight Premier League games (five shots, four chances created on Saturday). Indeed, he has only netted one goal in those matches. 

Julen Lopetegui is eyeing improvements from West Ham as they target their first win of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Spaniard's first game in charge ended in disappointment, as the Hammers conceded a late goal in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

Though West Ham have brought in a whole host of new signings, few featured at the London Stadium, but Lopetegui could choose to ring in the changes in an attempt to get their first points on the board under his charge.

"The Premier League is the most demanding competition around the world, so the little details are key," he said.

"It's true that we lost against one of the best teams in the Premier League in the last season.

"We have to keep the good things that we showed, and we did, and we have to improve the bad things to be more competitive."

Meanwhile, Palace also lost their opening game, going down 2-1 to Brentford after they had an early Eberechi Eze goal chalked out when the referee blew his whistle before the ball crossed the line.

Oliver Glasner has seen the Eagles go from strength to strength under his leadership, with only Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea earning more points than them since he took over in February.

The German was left frustrated by the manner of their defeat to the Bees and admitted there is still work for Palace to do to get back to the level they showed last season.

"We feel disappointed of losing the season opener," he told the BBC.

"It feels like we shouldn't lose the game. There were many situations where we did okay but know we can do better.

"In decisive situations, we were not on our top level."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Palace – Eberechi Eze

Eberechi Eze had more shots on matchday one than any other Premier League player (seven). It is the third time he has had 7+ shots in a Premier League game without scoring, the most of any Crystal Palace player on record (since 2004-05).

West Ham – Tomas Soucek

Despite losing to Aston Villa, West Ham had the second-highest expected goals total of any Premier League side on the opening weekend (2.5 behind Liverpool's 2.7).

Tomas Soucek was responsible for 1.1 of those with his five shots, though he failed to hit the target with any of them.

MATCH PREDICTION: CRYSTAL PALACE WIN

Palace have won their last two Premier League home games against West Ham, having won just one of their previous eight against them at Selhurst Park (drew two, lost five).

In fact, Palace's recent home form is impressive after they won their final four Premier League games of 2023-24 at Selhurst Park by an aggregate score of 16-2. The Eagles have not won five consecutive such games since October 2001 (a run of six), while they have never done so in the top-flight.

However, Palace have won just five of their last 25 Premier League games in August (drawn seven, lost 13). Indeed, in all months they have played at least 10 games in the competition, they have fewer wins (11) and their lowest win rate (21%) in August.

Meanwhile, West Ham lost 2-1 against Aston Villa in their opening Premier League match this season – no side has lost both of their opening two games in a single campaign more often than the Hammers (eight, level with Southampton).

The Hammers lost their last three Premier League games against fellow London sides in 2023-24, with the last two seeing them lose 5-2 at Crystal Palace and 5-0 at Chelsea. No team in English Football League history has ever conceded 5+ goals in three consecutive London derby matches before.

The last four Premier League meetings between Palace and West Ham at Selhurst Park have produced a total of 24 goals, an average of six per game (13 for Palace, 11 for West Ham). Both teams have scored at least twice in each of these four matches.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Crystal Palace – 43.6%

Draw – 25.4%

West Ham – 31%

Julen Lopetegui was left feeling his West Ham side had much to improve on after losing 2-1 to Aston Villa in his first game in charge.

Villa took the lead after just four minutes through Amadou Onana before Lucas Paqueta levelled from the spot before half-time.

There would be no dream start to Lopetegui’s time at the helm, however, as Jhon Duran scored the winner after 79 minutes, before Tomas Soucek missed two clear opportunities to level at the death.

Instead, the Spaniard was left pondering improvements to his new side after a disappointing display.

"We're going to have a lot of things to improve. Above all in the second half we have a big opportunity to win the match and we lost. We have to learn and improve in the next step," he told Sky Sports.

"In the second half we started well, we had the initiative. Maybe in the last moments we didn't take the right decisions. 

"They get to score a second goal. I am not happy again because we suffered one goal in set-pieces that in these kinds of matches these little details are going to be key."

Onana’s opener came from a corner, unsurprisingly given all of his Premier League goals (four) have been headers. However, it called into question the host’s defence as Michail Antonio struggled to mark the Belgium international in the box.

But Lopetegui was also disappointed with the Hammers' lack of edge at the other end of the pitch.

"We had the last 20 minutes under control and had a good chance to score the second goal, but didn't," he later told BBC Match of the Day.

"We suffered with their second goal, but after that we had two clear chances [to equalise]. We didn't [take them] and we have to keep the good things. It's a pity for us and for our fans – we had big expectations and ambitions for this match."

West Ham's big misses were evident in their 2.4 expected goals (xG). In comparison, their opponents proved far more clinical, with their goals coming from 1.89 xG.

There was some reason for optimism for Lopetegui, however, as he handed out six debuts during the match, the most for West Ham in a single game in the Premier League since 2018 against Liverpool (also six).

"For a lot of players it was their first match in our stadium. Max [Kilman] did well. Guido [Rodriguez] too," the former Spain coach added.

"A lot of them have to improve and push the players in the line-up to be more competitive."

Julen Lopetegui lost his first Premier League game in charge of West Ham, as Jhon Duran's strike secured a 2-1 victory for Aston Villa at the London Stadium.

West Ham have spent big in the transfer market to back their new coach, but the Hammers ultimately fell short in their opening match of 2024-25.

Lucas Paqueta's penalty cancelled out an early opener from Villa debutant Amadou Onana, while Leon Bailey had struck the woodwork for the visitors too.

Substitute Duran – who was reportedly a target for the Hammers – would have the final say though, neatly finishing off a team move to restore Villa's lead with 11 minutes of normal time remaining.

Villa's win takes them into the top four, while West Ham sit in 15th, albeit both teams will not be paying too much attention to the table just yet.

Data Debrief: Villa end London Stadium woes

A trip to the London Stadium to start the season was probably not what Villa fans were hoping for when they saw the fixture list, having lost each of their last nine Premier League trips to east London.

But, they dug deep to end that run on Saturday, getting their first away win against the Hammers since April 2011 when they won 2-1 at Upton Park.

Duran proved the hero in the end - he has scored six Premier League goals from just 616 minutes played in the competition, an average of one every 103 minutes; among players to have scored 5+ Premier League goals, only Erling Haaland (85) averages a better minutes-to-goals rate

Meanwhile, West Ham have lost their opening game 16 times in the Premier League, more than any other team in the competition's history. 

Julen Lopetegui insisted that he will not "put limits on our dreams" ahead of West Ham's opening game of the Premier League season against Aston Villa. 

Lopetegui, who is taking charge of his second team in England's top flight, has overseen several new arrivals at the London Stadium in the past few weeks. 

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug have all put pen to paper on deals with the Hammers, but the Spaniard knows that it will take more than just new faces to achieve their end goal. 

"I don't put limits on our dreams. The only way you can achieve dreams is by working," Lopetegui said. 

"We can talk about ambitions, but the most important thing is to work hard every day, especially on the bad days.

"We need to work with good energy and progress step by step."

Meanwhile, Aston Villa are gearing up for the new season along with their first Champions League campaign since 1983 following a fourth-placed finish last season.

They have also made additions, with Unai Emery welcoming eight new arrivals to bolster their squad after seeing injuries threaten to derail their campaign last year. 

However, manager Unai Emery insisted that the Premier League remained a priority, calling for consistency as they aim to navigate a hectic fixture schedule. 

"The first objective is 38 Premier League matches. Then, to play in the Champions League is really the way we want to be competitive," Emery said.

"To win a title through the Champions League, we could, but it would be very difficult.

"We’re not refusing this option, but we have to be competitive and consistent in the Premier League."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

West Ham – Crysencio Summerville

Last season's Championship Player of the Year, Summerville, will be hoping to hit the ground running in what will be his third crack at the Premier League. 

The Dutchman was involved in 28 goals last season for Leeds (19 goals and nine assists excluding the play-offs), with only Southampton’s Adam Armstrong (34) and Blackburn’s Sammie Szmodics (31) involved in more.

Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

Off the back of his most prolific scoring season with Villa and a semi-final strike for England at Euro 2024, Ollie Watkins has been tipped to challenge for the Golden Boot this time around. 

Watkins joined the Villans from Brentford, but has enjoyed a return to the capital since, scoring more times (13) in games played in London than any other Villa player. 

He has 59 overall in the Premier League, behind only Gabriel Abgonlahor (74) and Dwight Yorke (60) for the West Midlands club. 

MATCH PREDICTION: WEST HAM WIN

West Ham just edge Opta's data-led simulations, handed a win percentage of 41.1% compared to Villa's 32.2%, with a draw given a 26.7% chance of happening. 

But both sides have struggled on the opening day in recent years. The Hammers have lost on five of the six occasions they’ve begun a Premier League campaign against a side who finished in the previous season’s top four. 

They have also won their opening Premier League match in just one of the last eight seasons (D1 L6), beating Newcastle 4-2 in 2021-22. Indeed, the Hammers have lost their opening game in the Premier League more often than any other side (15).

But they have fared better against Saturday's opponents in the head-to-head record. The Hammers have lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games against Aston Villa (W6 D5), which came in a 4-1 loss at Villa Park last season.

Aston Villa have lost their opening Premier League match in each of the last three seasons, conceding 10 goals in those games. They also lost the last time they faced West Ham in their first game, falling to a 1-0 defeat at Upton Park in 2012-13.

Emery's side failed to win any of their last four Premier League games in 2023-24 (D2 L2), their longest run without a win under the Spaniard. The 52-year-old last had a longer run without a league win between May and September 2021 with Villarreal (D4 L1).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

West Ham – 41.1%

Draw – 26.7%

Aston Villa – 32.2%

West Ham have announced that Jarrod Bowen will captain the side for the upcoming Premier League season in Julen Lopetegui's first campaign in charge. 

Bowen, who has made 202 appearances for the Hammers since his move from Hull in 2020, takes the armband from Kurt Zouma, who is in talks over a move to the UAE.

The 27-year-old scored 16 league goals for West Ham last year, equalling Paulo Di Canio's record from the 1999-2000 campaign for the most goals scored by a Hammers player in a Premier League season.

The England international's 22 league goal involvements was the joint-ninth highest in the division, level with new Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke

Bowen recently captained West Ham to victory in their final pre-season fixture against Celta Vigo in the Betway Cup on Saturday, finding the net before a 6-5 penalty shootout saw them triumph at the London Stadium. 

Bowen will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds and Mark Noble, an honour he was thrilled to accept. 

“I am incredibly proud and happy to be West Ham United captain,” Bowen told West Ham's website. “We’ve had many great moments here as a club.

"I’ve been here four-and-a-half years now, so to be named Club captain is a really proud moment and one that I’ll wear with great honour.

“Since I’ve been here it’s just been an upward trajectory in what we’ve done on the pitch, what I’ve done off the pitch.

"To get to this moment is another statement of love I have for this club, along with when I signed my new deal last year.

"I said then that I want to stay here for the rest of my life and I haven’t come off that page. If I can go down as a legend here in years to come, that would be great.”

Bowen will lead the Hammers out for their first fixture of the new Premier League season on Saturday when they welcome Aston Villa to the London Stadium. 

West Ham have confirmed the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as their new head coach, following David Moyes' departure at the end of the season.

Moyes' second stint at the London Stadium came to an end with Sunday's 3-1 final-day defeat to champions Manchester City, as the Hammers finished ninth in the Premier League table.

That was their third top-half finish in four full seasons under Moyes, who also led them to the Europa Conference League trophy last year.

However, a section of the club's fanbase continued to criticise Moyes' style of play throughout 2023-24, and it was announced at the start of May that he would not be extending his contract.

Reports immediately suggested Lopetegui was the leading contender to take charge, and it has now been confirmed that he will officially begin working with West Ham on July 1.

Speaking to West Ham's media channels, Lopetegui said he was excited to start building a future at West Ham. 

"I feel that we have a fantastic platform," he said. "I think the last few years have been very good years to have this base, of course, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve more and bigger aims and to encourage and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football is about this – to compete. We are very ambitious about this.

"I am where I want to be. I am here because I want to be here and, for us, it was a fantastic day when we closed our agreement here because our commitment is 100 per cent to be here.

"We had other opportunities, but I am very happy that West Ham chose me because I chose West Ham too, so we are really happy about this.

"We came here with the idea and the thought to make a big, big noise. That's why we came here, and we are excited by this challenge.

"Of course, we are going to do our best to help the club and the team to achieve the best level and to achieve our aims. I assure the fans that they are going to be key in all our achievements."

Lopetegui walked out of his previous role with Wolves on the eve of the 2023-24 season, having grown frustrated by a lack of transfer activity after saving the side from relegation in 2022-23.

He previously enjoyed stints in charge of Porto, Spain and Real Madrid, also leading Sevilla to Europa League glory and three successive top-four finishes in LaLiga.

Julen Lopetegui has reportedly agreed to succeed David Moyes as West Ham manager, with the Scot set to leave the London Stadium when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Despite overseeing three successive European campaigns and delivering the Europa Conference League trophy last season, Moyes has continued to face fierce pressure from sections of the West Ham fanbase.

He claimed to have been offered a new contract earlier this season but said he would hold off on making a final decision regarding his future until the end of the campaign.   

West Ham sit ninth in the Premier League table after being thrashed 5-0 by Chelsea on Sunday, with their hopes of European qualification all but over following a drop-off since the turn of the year.

Several coaches have been suggested as contenders to replace Moyes, with Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim apologising to his current club after holding talks with the Hammers hierarchy in London last month.

On Monday, however, widespread reports claimed West Ham had reached an agreement in principle with Lopetegui, who left his last job with Wolves on the eve of the Premier League season. 

Lopetegui saved Wolves from relegation last term but left the club just three days before the start of 2023-24, having grown frustrated with a lack of transfer activity at Molineux. 

He previously led Sevilla to three straight fourth-placed finishes in LaLiga between 2019 and 2022, also overseeing their 3-2 victory over Inter in the 2019-20 Europa League final.

Lopetegui – who has also managed Porto, Spain and Real Madrid – had also been linked with Bayern Munich and Milan, though fan protests derailed his chances of taking charge of the Rossoneri.  

David Moyes insisted there remains a "football hunger" to carry West Ham forward as speculation persists over the Hammers moving for Julen Lopetegui.

Widespread reports suggest West Ham have been in contact with Lopetegui, who left Wolves ahead of the 2023-24 campaign after just eight months in charge.

Yet Moyes reiterated his commitment to West Ham as the Scotsman aims for another top-10 Premier League finish, with the Hammers ninth in the table heading into the weekend's action.

"Absolutely, it's football hunger," Moyes responded when questioned on his drive to take West Ham to the next level.

"I'm nearly a bit embarrassed to be asked that question because I'm a football nut. I love my football, I go to games, I love it, really do. I have got great hunger."

"I said to everybody that we will make a decision at the end of the season."

West Ham and Moyes will hope to end a three-game winless run in the league when they head to London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Julen Lopetegui claimed Wolves were denied a "very, very clear penalty" by referee Andy Madley in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United.

Wolves were furious in January when they had a late goal disallowed for offside against Liverpool in the FA Cup at Anfield, and they remain convinced that was an injustice.

Madley was also the man in the middle that time, with Wolves denied what would almost certainly have been a winning goal as the game finished 2-2, with Liverpool going on to edge the replay 1-0 at Molineux.

That incident has not been forgotten by Lopetegui, and he was aghast at Wolves being denied a spot-kick early on against Newcastle at St James' Park.

Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope took a poor touch and gave away the ball to Wolves striker Raul Jimenez, before seeming to bundle the Mexican to the floor.

Wolves wanted a penalty and a red card but got neither, and Lopetegui said afterwards: "It's true that, for me, it was a very, very clear penalty for us. We are very unlucky with the referee. This is a pity for us.

"It doesn't matter what I think. The more important thing is that this is true that we have suffered a big mistake a lot of matches ago at Liverpool, and for me [Sunday's incident] was a penalty, but the VAR can't help in this case the referee. We were very unlucky with the decision. We didn't have a penalty since I arrived here."

Alexander Isak headed Newcastle ahead in the first half, but Hwang Hee-chan brought Wolves level in the 70th minute.

The visitors sat deep and were punished by a fine finish from Miguel Almiron nine minutes later.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe told Sky Sports he felt there would have been no justification in awarding Wolves a penalty for the clash between Pope and Jimenez, which came when the game was goalless.

Howe said: "I didn't think it was a penalty at the time. You might say I was biassed, but I didn't. I thought it was Jimenez going down before the contact was made, that was my initial assessment."

Substitute Almiron delighted Howe with his contribution off the bench, having been a regular starter up to now.

"Not that he necessarily needed to give a response, it was a case of us just trying to freshen him up," Howe said. "It's an outstanding season that he's had, he's contributed in lots of different ways, and you see the work rate he gives every week. He made a massive impact, and I'm delighted for him."

Howe was glad to halt a five-game winless run, with the Magpies jumping above Liverpool into fifth place.

"I just think it reignites us," he said. "Hopefully it re-sparks us into action and restores confidence levels to where they should be."

Jurgen Klopp was pleased to see Liverpool recover from their "knock" against Real Madrid as they beat Wolves 2-0 at Anfield.

The Reds blew a two-goal lead at home to lose 5-2 against the Spanish giants in their Champions League last-16 first leg last week, but kept their fourth clean sheet in four Premier League games on Wednesday.

Second-half goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah secured three points that send Liverpool up to sixth in the table, and six points off the top four.

Liverpool have kept a clean sheet in four or more consecutive games in the Premier League for the first time since February-April last year (five).

"We knew it would be a difficult game, we controlled the game in a lot of periods," Klopp told BBC Sport after the victory. "There were situations rather than chances, we got in a rush in these moments. We got our rhythm back in the second half, we just had to be solid defensively and keep making chances.

"In general we did defensively well tonight, Diogo [Jota] in the 10 was really important, the midfield was together, defensively we had a high line and won decisive challenges. Ali [Alisson] didn't have spectacular saves to make which was good.

"We had a knock against Real Madrid, we played a really good first half then we started the second really bad. We looked a lot more stable today, we have to carry that on."

It could have been a frustrating night for Liverpool, who were kept at bay for large periods by Wolves, and Darwin Nunez was denied the opener just after the hour when referee Paul Tierney reviewed the goal and decided Diogo Jota had committed a foul in the build-up.

"For the boys on the pitch it was a clear goal, but you have to stay focused. We forced the first goal and the second was wonderful," Klopp said.

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui conceded that the hosts deserved to win, saying he was pleased with his team's first-half efforts but acknowledged they had been unable to keep it up in the second.

"Maybe we could have disrupted their rhythm," he told Premier League Productions. "We weren't able to do much damage in the space. We put Adama [Traore] on but didn't find the moment, they were aggressive on the press. In the first half we overcome some moments on this press, in the second half no.

"When you have this type of match, you have to keep the ball and be calm. In the first half we did this, we matched them, but in the second we did not have these chances."

Liverpool's dire run of form continued as Craig Dawson and Ruben Neves got on the scoresheet for Wolves in a 3-0 thrashing of the beleaguered Reds at Molineux on Saturday.

The Reds' bid for a first Premier League victory of 2023 never got going as debutant Dawson followed up Joel Matip's bizarre own goal to put Wolves firmly in control within 12 minutes.

Jurgen Klopp's team enjoyed plenty of possession after the break, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed with 19 minutes left as Neves capped a swift break to put Wolves 3-0 up.  

As well as avenging last month's FA Cup exit against Liverpool, Wolves claimed a huge three points in their bid to avoid relegation, leaving crisis club Liverpool in 10th and winless in four league matches.   

Wolves needed just five minutes to breach a Liverpool defence bereft of confidence, as Hwang Hee-chan's cut-back spun off Matip and against the post before crossing the goal-line.

Rocked by that goal, Liverpool fell further behind seven minutes later when Joe Gomez inexplicably headed Matheus Cunha's cross away from Alisson's grasp, allowing Dawson to fire high into the net from close range. 

Jose Sa denied Darwin Nunez with a one-on-one save two minutes later, but Liverpool were fortunate to reach half-time 2-0 down as Matheus Nunes broke clear to draw a similar stop from Alisson.

Max Kilman cleared off the line amid a goalmouth scramble as Liverpool looked to respond after the break, before Mohamed Salah bent an effort narrowly wide of the bottom-left corner.

Sa made another huge save from Nunez's low strike as Wolves sat deep to defend their lead, but Julen Lopetegui's men made the points safe when Adama Traore broke clear to tee up Neves for a neat left-footed finish. 

It wasn't long ago that Sevilla fans were dreaming of actually winning LaLiga for the first time since their only title success in the 1940s.

Sporting director Monchi built the squad and Julen Lopetegui maximised its potential, using a brilliant defence as the platform for a solid and effective team.

Ultimately, Sevilla's form in the final weeks of the 2020-21 season saw their challenge tail off, but they finished just nine points adrift of eventual champions Atletico Madrid.

Essentially going toe-to-toe with three teams whose budgets dwarfed their own was itself an achievement, and the positivity carried through into the 2021-22 campaign.

At the end of matchday 20, second-placed Sevilla were just two points behind Real Madrid and 10 clear of Real Betis in third. However, since then, their accumulation of 47 points is the ninth-most in LaLiga.

Barcelona have almost double that number (91); Madrid have 79; city rivals Betis are on 62; Real Mallorca – only promoted back to LaLiga for last season – have tallied just three points fewer.

In that respect, Sunday's trip to Camp Nou represents a particularly daunting challenge. So, how has everything unravelled so quickly for Sevilla?

The key departures

Lopetegui's side were never particularly high scorers. In each of his three full seasons in charge, there were at least four teams in LaLiga who scored more than them, and the most they plundered was 54 in 2020-21.

While that may not exactly sound bad on the face of it, successful teams obviously tend to score a fair amount more. Over the seasons in question, the average goals total for the 15 teams to play each campaign in LaLiga was 155 – Sevilla's total was 160, so only slightly above average.

The reason they were able to be competitive around the top of the table despite attacking deficiencies was their excellent defence, built around the central pairing of Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde.

Sevilla conceded 97 goals across Lopetegui's three full seasons, bettered only by Real Madrid (84) and Atletico Madrid (95). The league median was 135, so they were much better than average.

Diego Carlos and Kounde both had the perfect blend of defensive intelligence, physical presence and technical ability, with Lopetegui's emphasis on building from the back starting with them. They were key to virtually everything.

Sevilla knew they'd leave eventually. The likelihood of being able to replace them with another partnership just as good was miniscule.

Instead, they'd need to offset their departures with greater goal threat at the other end. They failed. Sevilla have gone from scoring 1.4 goals and conceding 0.9 per game to netting 1.1 and letting in 1.4.

Lopetegui's delayed exit

Generally, Lopetegui did a very good job. Sevilla were rarely especially entertaining, but for about two and a half seasons they were very effective.

Their form tailed off badly towards the end of the 2021-22 campaign, however. Between January 1 and the end of the season, Sevilla's 32 points from 20 games were only the sixth-most. While they only lost twice in LaLiga during that run, they drew 11 times – no other team in the division reached double figures.

As the end of the season closed in, it seemed likely Lopetegui would leave, and to most fans it felt like the right time. Departing at that moment would've provided him and the club with a clean break and given his successor a full pre-season to get their ideas across.

A report from Marca in mid-May suggested Lopetegui was "on the precipice". A local reporter claimed the same day that their parting had been decided. But about 24 hours later, Monchi insisted the former Real Madrid and Barcelona goalkeeper would still be in charge for the new season.

Indeed, he was, but Lopetegui's attempts to re-energise the team fell flat. Sevilla began the season with one point from four games – they have never had fewer points after that many matches, with it their worst start in 41 years.

Lopetegui lasted another month, but back-to-back home defeats to Atletico and Borussia Dortmund – who were 4-1 winners – took him to the point of no return, his departure confirmed by an emotional on-pitch farewell to supporters.

Jorge Sampaoli, Lopetegui's replacement, has struggled to inspire a turnaround upon his return to the club and even had to contend with reports questioning his own future.

But the coaches cannot be entirely to blame.

Questionable transfer policy

It almost feels like sacrilege to criticise the work of Monchi – at Sevilla, anyway – but his second spell in charge of the club's transfers has been blighted by expensive (by their standards) disappointments.

It hasn't all been bad. Three successive top-four finishes was something they hadn't achieved since the 1950s, and the likes of Diego Carlos and Kounde will go down among Monchi's best ever deals.

But many signings have failed to live up to expectations.

Of the six players brought in during this season's first transfer window, three (Kasper Dolberg, Isco and Adnan Januzaj) have already left permanently or on loan; one has struggled significantly (Tanguy Nianzou); the other two (Marcao and Alex Telles) have spent more time injured than not.

Thirty-six players have been signed between the end of the 2018-19 season and the start of 2023, but you could argue only 11 have been successes. There's also been a focus on more experienced players, so the squad now has 11 players aged 30 or older. Unsurprisingly, the average age of their starting XI (28.9 years) is the oldest in LaLiga this term.

Obviously, it's easy to be critical with hindsight, and it should be highlighted Sevilla rely on player turnover to generate much of their revenue. It's always a risky strategy and that the club has had so much success with this model over the past 20 years speaks to Monchi's excellence.

But this is probably the trickiest period Sevilla have had since returning to LaLiga in 2001. Sure, recent results have hoisted them up to 13th, but they're still only two points above the bottom three and nothing about this season has suggested the squad is mentally tough, which would be a worry if they still found themselves perilously close to the drop zone in the final weeks of the campaign.

The last thing Sevilla need right now is a trip to Camp Nou, where they've not beaten Barca in LaLiga since 2002.

On the other hand, an unlikely positive result could be a game-changer as the club build for a 2023 that fans hope brings a bit more cheer than 2022.

Steve Cooper admitted Dean Henderson being ineligible for Nottingham Forest's EFL Cup semi-final tie against Manchester United "put a dampener" on Wednesday's quarter-final win against Wolves.

Henderson was the hero in a tense penalty shoot-out at the City Ground after Raul Jimenez cancelled out Willy Boly's opener in a 1-1 draw, denying Ruben Neves and Joe Hodge as Forest triumphed 4-3.

However, the on-loan goalkeeper will be unable to feature in the final four after Forest were drawn to face his parent club United, leaving Cooper frustrated.

Asked about Henderson's situation in his post-match press conference, Cooper said: "It is unfortunate. That has put a bit of a dampener on it."

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Cooper hailed the goalkeeper's performance, saying: "We felt ready [for the penalty shoot-out], we did plan and prepare for it with Dean and the outfield guys, but even with that, it was still a bit of the luck of the gods. 

"Dean was fantastic in the 90 minutes in keeping the ball out of the net, and he carried that over to the shoot-out."

Cooper was not overly enthusiastic about Forest's performance, however, adding: "I'm chuffed for the supporters and players. 

"The objective of the tie was to get through. I can't say I loved our performance, I shouldn't be too negative and I won't be, but we have to play a lot better than we did for large spells of the game."

Meanwhile, Wolves counterpart Julen Lopetegui was frustrated by Graham Scott's failure to award a penalty when Matheus Nunes appeared to be fouled by Emmanuel Dennis late on, with no VAR in place to overturn the decision.

"It was very clear. Matheus went to control the ball and he didn't allow him to do it. It is very clear, we have seen the image," he said.

"Maybe I will have to review my knowledge of the rules. Maybe they are different. We have to accept it. The referee is the one who has the power to say yes or no. They don't have VAR today, it was a pity for us."