Sevilla vs Dinamo Zagreb

Back to their favourite competition, Sevilla will be looking to hit the ground running against Dinamo Zagreb when the two sides meet at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League last-32 tie.

So synonymous with the Europa League, Sevilla couldn’t resist the temptation to exit the Champions League group stage in order to join the competition they’ve won the record six times. Irony aside, ‘Los Rojiblancos’ will be overwhelming favourites against a Dinamo Zagreb side they’ve beaten ‘to nil’ in both previous European encounters. The Andalusian giants have, in fact, gone unbeaten in all four meetings with Croatian opponents in major European competitions (W3, D1), keeping a clean sheet in three of those clashes. Topically, Julen Lopetegui’s men have registered a shutout in seven of their last eight home outings in the Europa League. Sevilla’s overall home record in the competition’s knock-out stages reads intimidatingly (W11, D2, L3), though it’s worth noting that those draws have come in their last two such fixtures.

Meanwhile, Dinamo Zagreb may have delivered a mixed bag of performances in the Europa League group stages this term (W3, D1, L2), but their 1-0 win at West Ham on Matchday 6 waxes lyrical about their continental credentials. The reigning Croatian champions will have to translate that form here if they are to end their disastrous six-game losing European record on Spanish soil. Despite drawing a blank in four of those six matches, Zagreb can take confidence from finding the net in each of their three Europa League travels this season. Zeljko Kopic’s men have laid the foundation for a possible upset here, having won five of their six away European outings this season, beating their opponents ‘to nil’ on each occasion. But they have lost four of their five away games in the Europa League knock-out stages, which could be an ominous sign.