Juventus Vs Sevilla: Preview and Prediction
Nearing the end of a controversy-hit campaign, Max Allegri’s Juventus will host UEL experts Sevilla in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League semifinals in a bid to end the season on a high. The Spanish club has already ousted one giant in Manchester United and will be hoping to do the same to Juve.
Juventus recently had their 15-point deduction overturned, and their recent three-match unbeaten run sees them second on the Serie A table. Napoli have run away with the league title this season and the Bianconeri do not have any other trophy to fight for except the Europa League.
Sevilla, on the other hand, has enjoyed reasonable success under their third managerial appointment of the season, Jose Luis Mendilibar. They are 11th in La Liga and will be optimistic about their chances of pulling off yet another upset in Europe’s second-tier competition.
Current Form
There aren’t many managers as desperate for silverware as Max Allegri this season. His team has made quiet progress in recent games after big defeats against Napoli and Inter. Juventus enter the match after back-to-back victories in La Liga, which came against Lecce and Atalanta.
Sevilla on the other hand has already beaten Fenerbahce and Manchester United en route to the semis. They come into this game with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Espanyol in La Liga. Sevilla showed great character in their last game after trailing 1-2 and might need to show the same kind of resilience against the Bianconeri.
Head to Head record
The two teams have understandably never come up against each other in the Europa League. Juventus have limited recent Europa League experience and come up against a side that has won the competition a record six times.
There have been a total of four previous matches between Juve and Sevilla, all of them coming in the Champions League. Juve has won twice, while Sevilla has won just once.
Sevilla can take solace in the fact that they have won each of their last six Europa League matches against Italian clubs. The last Italian club they faced in UEL was Inter, in the 2020 Final.
Team News
Juventus have plenty of returning stars to bank on for the semi-final fixture
After a long time this season, Max Allegri seems to have an almost full squad to choose from. Mattea De Sciglio is the only notable exception with both Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa making recent returns.
Leandro Paredes will be fresh to start after his Serie A suspension, while Dusan Vlahovic also returned to form with two goals in his last two appearances. Juve will have a wealth of attacking options with the likes of Angel Di Maria, Filip Kostic, and on-loan striker Arkadiusz Milik all available to start.
Sevilla was sweating over the fitness of three important players in the form of Lucas Ocampos, Fernando, and Erik Lamela. However, all three of them have travelled to Turin and can be expected to feature.
However, they are missing their main centrebacks Tanguy Nianzou and Marcao. In their absence, Sevilla will have a makeshift defense with Nemanja Gudelj expected to slot in. Finally, both Suso and Tecatito will be unavailable for the first leg and are expected to return next week.
Predicted Starting XIs
Juventus (3-5-1-1): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Juan Cuadrado, Nicolo Fagioli, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Filip Kostic; Angel Di Maria; Dusan Vlahovic
Sevilla (4-2-3-1): Yassine Bounou; Jesus Navas, Louc Bade, Nemanja Gudelj, Marcos Acuna; Papa Gueye, Ivan Rakitic; Lucas Ocampos, Oliver Torres, Bryan Gil; Youssef En-Nesyri
Prediction
Sevilla is perfectly capable of beating any team in the Europa League. However, Juventus’ recent form, on-paper superiority, and home advantage mean that they will come out with all guns blazing.