Arsenal vs Sevilla: Preview and Prediction
Arsenal will complete their pre-season preparations with the Emirates Cup final against Spanish outfit Sevilla at the Emirates stadium in North London.
Arsenal will be happy with how they have performed as a team, and Mikel Arteta will be more than pleased with what he has seen especially during their 4-0 routing of city rivals Chelsea. The club won all of its pre-season friendlies except for their most recent encounter against Brentford in a behind-closed-doors friendly at London Colney which saw the team lose 2-1.
Bryan Mbeumo opened for Brentford before Eddie Nketiah’s goal cancelled their lead, however, just before halftime Ryan Trevitt restored the lead for the Bees who then went on to win the game. However, Arsenal played a relatively inexperienced squad and will only take learning away from it.
On the other hand, Sevilla drew 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur before beating Sporting on penalties 6-5 after the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Before its trip to the Emirates, the team defeated French side Angers 6-0.
Head to Head Record
The two teams have locked horns against each other on three occasions, which include a pre-season friendly (Emirates Cup). Twice during the 2007 Champions League and most recently during the Emirates Cup fixture in 2017. Sevilla has a better head to head record having won two against Arsenal’s one which includes a 2-1 win.
Team News
Kieran Tierney has to lead the team vocally and his return will be a huge bonus
For Arsenal Emile Smith Rowe, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu have been recovering from injuries and are slowly returning to training and could possibly see a few minutes going into the new season. Fabio Vieira meanwhile is unlikely to take part in the game following a foot injury while Bernd Leno is likely to not be involved as he looks to leave the club before the start of the new season.
The team is likely to play Aaron Ramsdale at the glove, with Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, William Saliba and new signing Oleksandr Zinchenko looking likely to start the game. In the midfield, Arsenal could use Granit Xhaka along with Mohamed Elneny with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus forming the front four.
For Sevilla, Jules Kounde has sealed a move away from the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium to Camp Nou and will be seen in Barcelona colors. The club could also be without Rafa Mir who is said to be facing muscular issues.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Arsenal: Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, William Saliba, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus
Sevilla: Bono, Gonzalo Montiel, Karim Rekik, Jesus Navas, Marcos Acuna, Joan Jordan, Ivan Rakitic, Thomas Delaney, Jesus Corona, Youssef En-Nesyri and Lucas Ocampos
Prediction
Six-time UEFA Europa League winner Sevilla is in good form and so are Arsenal and this calls for an exciting contest. With this being a pre-season friendly match, both teams will look to experiment with their XI and look to finalise their starting line-up ahead of the new season.
