Author – Amrit Santlani
Juventus and Sevilla are due to meet in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-finals, as the two teams were inseparable in the first leg with a 1-1 draw. In the other semi-final, master José Mourinho will renew his rivalry with his apprentice Xabi Alonso, while AS Roma will try to secure passage to their second continental final in two years after winning the Conference League title last season.
Sevilla – Juventus
Sevilla, the record holders in the Europa League, have had a disappointing league campaign so far this season, but are on the verge of extending their run of six titles. Max Allegri’s Juventus will be looking to win their fourth Europa League title, having won the competition three times in the days when it was called the UEFA Cup, their last title coming in 1993.
In the first leg, the La Liga side showed their strength and almost came away with a 1-0 win, had it not been for Federico Gatti’s dramatic equalizer in injury time. The Turin club looked lethargic at the back and will have to work harder to keep Sevilla at bay in the second leg at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
Team news
With a lot to play for, it’s likely that neither coach will make many changes, so both teams should field the same XI as last week.
Sevilla: Yassine Bounou; Jesus Navas, Loic Bade, Nemanja Gudelj, Marcos Acuna; Fernando, Ivan Rakitic; Lucas Ocampos, Oliver Torres, Bryan Gil; Youssef En-Nesyri
Juventus: Wojciech Szczęsny; Danilo, Leonardo Bonucci, Alex Sandro; Juan Cuadrado, Fabio Miretti, Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot, Filip Kostic; Angel di Maria; Dusan Vlahovic
Key players
Youssef En-Nesyri has been in superb form as Sevilla’s top scorer, and the Moroccan striker will be hoping to score his 19th goal in all competitions, as he also scored in the first leg.
Adrien Rabiot has been an important player for Juventus this season. The Frenchman was unlucky not to score in the Serie A win over Cremonese, but he has proved to be a major threat and is the second top scorer this season with 8 goals for the Old Lady, behind Dusan Vlahovic.
Forecasts:
Sevilla should go through
Despite all their praise, Juventus have had an up-and-down season and, due to Sevilla’s immense success in the Europa League, they will have the advantage in their own backyard against the Serie A giants.
Bounou keeps a clean sheet
The Moroccan has shown the world what he can do at the 2023 FIFA World Cup and will be keen to keep a lacklustre Juventus attack under control.
Angel di Maria to shine
The Argentine has been aging like a fine wine, and Di Maria is expected to play a key role if Juventus manage to eliminate the record holders in the second leg of the semi-final.
Bayer – AS Roma
In the other semi-final, José Mourinho got the better of his apprentice Xabi Alonso in the first leg, when Roma won 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico
. After leading Roma to their first ever Conference League title last season, the “special one” will be eager to do more and prove his detractors wrong by saying he’s finished.
On the other hand, Alonso is still learning to stand out among the best, and a comeback victory over the former Real Madrid coach would help cement his legacy as one of the best young coaches in the world. Edoardo Bove’s goal just after the hour mark is what separates the two teams, although what worries Alonso is that the Leverkusen team lacked attacking strength, relying too much on the young shoulders of Florian Wirtz. The Bundesliga club have a tough task against Roma, but hope to get a great result with the support of their fans.
Team news
Odilon Kossounou suffered a hamstring injury in the first leg and had to be replaced by Mitchell Bakker, so Xabi Alonso will have to field Piero Hincapie at center-back in the only expected change, and neither coach is likely to tinker too much.
Leverkusen: Lukas Hradecky; Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapie; Jeremie Frimpong, Exequiel Palacios, Robert Andrich, Mitchell Bakker; Moussa Diaby, Florian Wirtz; Adam Hlozek
Roma: Rui Patricio; Gianluca Mancini, Bryan Cristante, Roger Ibanez; Mehmet Zeki Celik, Edoardo Bove, Nemanja Matic, Leonardo Spinazzola; Lorenzo Pellegrini, Andrea Belloti, Tammy Abraham
Forecasts:
Roma’s victory
Mourinho’s side dominated proceedings in the first leg and will be expected to put in a strong performance to maintain their lead in the second leg.
Florian Wirtz to score
Florian Wirtz has been Leverkusen’s biggest threat and although Roma did well to nullify his threat in the first leg, the German wonderkid will probably give them a hard time once again.
Tammy Abraham to score
Similarly, at Roma, Tammy Abraham has been the player who scores the most goals and is likely to be the chief architect of most of Mourinho’s team’s attacks.