Sevilla to progress to Europa League last-16
Marco Iacobucci EPP / Shutterstock.com
Spain’s Sevilla host Italy’s Lazio in their second leg Europa League last-32 match on Wednesday night. Five-time UEFA Cup/Europa League winners Sevilla take a 1-0 aggregate lead into the second leg. Lazio are under pressure to overcome the deficit on the road.
The good news for manager Simone Inzaghi is his team needs just one away goal to force extra-time. But Lazio’s attack was ineffective in the first leg without injured star striker Ciro Immobile and other players struggling for fitness.
Inzaghi is facing an injury crisis. The Roman team lost 2-1 to Genoa at the weekend despite having Immobile back in the starting XI. The striker only played 55 minutes to keep him fresh for Wednesday night’s match in Europe. Unfortunately, without the striker, Lazio allowed two late Genoa goals after scoring early on in the fixture. Inzaghi’s team couldn’t see out the win without Immobile which once again shows just how vital the Italian is to the team.
While Immobile and Lucas Leiva will take their places in Lazio’s starting XI, Dusan Basta, Alessandro Murgia, Edoardo Rezzi, and Alessandro Rossi will all miss out. A decision on Luis Alberto is still to be made.
Like Lazio, Sevilla lost on the domestic front at the weekend. In fact, Sevilla are winless in their last three La Liga games, losing twice and drawing once. Yet, the Spanish team always steps up when it comes to the Europa League.
Wednesday night’s second leg match will be only the second time Sevilla and Lazio have met. Sevilla striker Wissam Ben Yedder’s goal decided the first leg and manager Pablo Machin will hope his star man can find the back of the net once more.
Sevilla started their Europa League campaign in the second qualifying round. The team’s early start helped lead to their fall off in La Liga after challenging for top spot in the first half of the term. Sevilla have won all six Europa League home games this season. Machin’s side has scored 22 goals while conceding just one. The Spanish team has won seven of seven UEFA European contests when it has won the first leg away from home. Machin will be without the services of players Luis Muriel, Lucho, Nolito, and Borja Lasso.
Lazio have their work cut out for them in Spain. Based of Sevilla’s fantastic history in the Europa League, especially at home, the Spanish side will gain victory and progress to the round of 16. Sevilla’s form in the competition and Lazio’s injury problems will see the five-time winners move on to the next round.
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