Sevilla vs Slavia Prague 08/03/19

8 March 2019

In-trouble Sevilla team welcome Slavia Prague to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán for the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

Sevilla’s nightmarish period went from bad to worse over the weekend as the Andalusians suffered a shock 2-1 LL road loss to the relegation-threatened Huesca. It was Los Hispalenses’ fifth defeat in their last eight games across all competitions (W2, D1, L5) and also the fifth in which they’ve conceded 2+ match goals. However, both of Los Rojiblancos’ previous victories have arrived in this competition – against Lazio, as they now chase their fourth Europa League quarter-finals appearance in the last six years. Although they’ve suffered two defeats in their previous ten competitive home outings, Los Nervionenses feel quite comfortable at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Pablo Machin’s players have won 16 of 22 home contests this season, bagging over 1.5 goals per match 14 times along the way.

On the other hand, coming into this meeting as big underdogs, the visitors aim to improve an indifferent EL road record (W2, D1, L2) and advance to the Europa League quarter-finals for the first time in the 21st century. The Sešívaní have gone past Genk in the last round thanks to a stunning 4-1 road victory in the return leg. Jindřich Trpišovský has plenty of reasons for excitement as his team pulled off four triumphs on their last five road trips across all competitions, beating their rivals with a comfortable 2-goal margin three times in the process. In the same period, the Červenobílí have scored over 2.5 goals per match on three occasions, failing to find the back of the net only in their 2-0 defeat to Viktoria Plzen.