Sevilla (4)1-1(1) AS Roma Replay: UEFA Europa League final 2022-23

10:30 PM: Hello everyone and welcome to Khel Now’s LIVE COVERAGE of the Sevilla vs AS Roma match in the UEFA Europa League final 2022-23. The kick-off is just two hours away! I’m your host Govind, and I’ll be keeping you company through what promises a fascinating evening of football. Please wait for 30 Seconds for the Live blog to load.

Whoever comes out on top in Budapest in this year’s Europa League final will have their reckoning with history and will add their name to its pages. Fascinating to see, if it’ll be Jose Mourinho who’ll come out on top for the sixth consecutive European Cup final or will be another unbeaten final added to Sevilla’s rich Europa League winning run. However, undeniably both these teams have similarities in how they’ve reached this penultimate stage of Europe’s second-tier Cup final after the Champions League.

For the Spanish side Sevilla, the prospect of even staying in European competition for this long may have seemed like a long shot back in October when they were eliminated from the group stage of the UCL which led to the exit of coach Julen Lopetugui. That was followed by the reign of former manager Jorge Sampoali who was reappointed after 2017 and after a spell of 31 games was removed with Sevilla hovering near the relegation zone.

On board came now former Eibar coach Jose Mendilibar and he’s been able to steady the ship and go on a run to the Europa League final. On the way, they’ve beaten footballing giants Manchester United(2-5 agg) and Juventus(2-3) in the quarter and semifinals respectively. Now with the league coming to a close at the upcoming weekend, it’s a must-win for the Spanish side to qualify for next season’s Champions League but also end a relatively disappointing early season fall, with a successful end.

With Jose Mourinho lamenting an injury-filled squad with numerous first-team players struggling for fitness, AS Roma will have the opportunity to find redemption yet again with consecutive European Cup finals appearances in two years. Their Portuguese manager has been the lieutenant who has carefully guided them to this stage through perseverance, suffering and an understated mindset of never over till it’s over.

Similar to their Spanish finalists, their league season has been far from successful and currently sixth on the Serie A table and still uncertainty amongst the faithful as to where they’ll end their season. However, with their manager being courted by PSG for next season, another European trophy and an appearance in the Champions League next season might be just about enough to convince Jose to stay another year and go for an unheard three different European Cups in three years!

AS Roma Form (All Competitions): L – D – D – L – W

Sevilla Form (All Competitions): L-W-L-W-W

layers to Watch Out

Sevilla: Ivan Rakitic

The former Barcelona player has the honour of being the first player ever to win the Champions League a year after winning the Europa League while playing for two clubs. He did that feat back in 2015 with Barcelona after winning the Europa League the year before with Sevilla. Now a veteran at 35, he can cap off a brilliant career with another Europa League trophy to his name before he eventually retires. He’s put in instrumental performances against Manchester United and Juventus in the last rounds and can be expected to always turns up in a big match and another major final.

Roma: Lorenzo Pellegrini

The local boy and Rome captain is the ever-reliant presence in Jose Mourinho team’s success this year. Despite the limited options upfront, the creativity provided by the Italy international has been the reason for their progress till the final. He has the highest goal contribution in the Europa League this season(4G,4A) and will look to end his campaign with the trophy.

Match Facts

• Sevilla are the most successful Europa League side in history and have won it six times between 2006 and 2020,
• Jose Mourinho has won his previous final European finals and tied with legendary Giovanni Trapattoni.

Head-to-head stats

Matches: 4

Sevilla: 2

AS Roma: 1

Draws: 1

Predicted Lineup for Sevilla vs AS Roma

AS Roma Predicted Lineup (3-4-3): 

Patricio; Mancini, Smalling, Llorente; Celik, Cristante, Matic, Spinazzola; Pellegrini, El Shaarawy; Abraham

Sevilla Predicted Lineup (4-3-2-1):

Bounou; Navas, Bade, Gudelj, Telles; Fernando, Rakitic; Ocampos, Torres, Gil; En-Nesyri