Sevilla is on the cusp of reaching another Europa League final but there’s still work to be done for the six-time winners of the competition as Juventus visits Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium Thursday.
The two played out a 1-1 draw in the opening leg and it’s likely going to be a cagey affair again. Bookmaker William Hill has the odds at 1.67 for under 2.5 goals in the game and at 3.00 for under 1.5 goals.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 17th, 12:30 P.M. (EST)
Juventus was very lucky to avoid defeat in the first leg as they struggled to create chances and only managed to score in the 97th minute. A much better effort in front will be needed to take down Sevilla, who have been reborn under new manager Jose Luis Mendilibar.
Mendilibar has lost just once since taking charge and Sevilla boasts seven wins from the 11 games played under the former Eibar boss. He’s turned the side into a high-scoring team and Juventus will likely have their hands full trying to keep Youssef En-Nesyri and others in check.
En-Nesyri was the Sevilla goalscorer in last week’s 1-1 draw and has now hit a whopping 16 goals in 2023. It’s been a great improvement from the Moroccan forward as he was stuck on just two goals for the season before the calendar was flipped. Six of En-Nesyri’s goals have come since Mendilibar arrived.
Juventus will look to Dusan Vlahovic to produce a match-winning moment. The Serbian star has struggled to make an impact this season but has found some form in recent weeks, scoring twice in the last four games. Producing a match-winning moment in a big European tie would definitely boost his stock among the Juve faithful.
The midfield will also have an important part to play. Juventus has once again lost Paul Pogba to injury, but Adrien Rabiot has been playing the best football of his career throughout the campaign and looks set to play a major role again. He sits second on the team in goals behind only Vlahovic and can hurt teams in multiple ways.
The two sides meet in Europe for a sixth time. It’s not been a very fruitful match-up for Sevilla, with Los Nervionenses winning only one of the previous clashes. However, Mendilibar’s men will have home advantage on Thursday and Juventus typically doesn’t enjoy their travels to Spain, having so far won only seven of their previous 32 visits.
