UEL 2022-23 Semi-final 2nd leg: Sevilla vs Juventus: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Will the Spanish manoeuvre continue in the UEFA Europa League or the Old Lady from Turin topple the competition's giants?

Sevilla earned a well deserved draw in Turin and were heading towards a famous victory until Federico Gatti turned up in the 97th minute to hand Juventus the equaliser as the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw. Sevilla and Juventus have met on five previous occasions in European competition, with the Spanish side’s lone victory coming at home in December 2015 (D2 L2).

They could become only the second team to eliminate Juventus in a European semi-final this century, after Benfica who did so in the 2013-14 UEFA Europa League (2-1 on aggregate). Sevilla have never lost a two-legged tie in the UEFA Europa League knockout stages when playing at home in the second leg, progressing from all nine such ties. Indeed, they have won 24 of their last 27 games in the competition at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan (D2 L1).

Juventus could qualify for their first European final since 2016-17 in the UEFA Champions League, which came under Massimiliano Allegri in his previous spell. Juventus have only won two of their last 17 away games against Spanish sides in the knockout stages of a major European competition (D3 L12), while only keeping one clean sheet across the 17 matches (0-0 at Barcelona in 2016-17). With a Champions League spot almost settled domestically in Serie A for next season, they can shift their focus completely on bringing this silverware to Turin.

Kick-Off:

Thursday, 18-05-2023, 07:00 PM (GMT)

Friday, 19-05-2023, 12:30 AM (IST)

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

Juventus Form (All Competitions): W-D-W-W-D

Player to Watch Out

Sevilla: Lucas Ocampos

Ocampos is a skilled and versatile attacker who usually plays as a wide forward but can also be deployed as an attacking central midfielder or as a number 10. He has a solitary goal and 2 assists in 7 appearances in the UEFA Europa League this season.

Juventus: Filip Kostic

An athletic left-footed wide player who can score, create, and mucks in defensively: Kostic is unique in his ability to marry attacking and defensive duties without an ounce of protestation. Bursting down the left wing with enormous confidence, he has been the stand out performer for Juventus this season after signing from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Match Facts

Sevilla are aiming to reach their fifth UEFA Europa League final, with their current total of four final appearances already the most of any side in the competition. They’ve won all three of their semi-final legs played at home in the UEFA Europa League (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16), scoring eight goals and only conceding once.

Massimiliano Allegri could become just the fifth manager to reach the finals in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, following Diego Simeone, Rafael Benitez, Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho.

Injury and Team News

Sevilla are still without the centre back pairing of Marcao and Tanguy Nianzou who are out with muscle injuries. Lucas Ocampos and Oliver Torres have had most of the say in their playmaking abilities back in Turin last week with Rakitic being at the helm of everything. Suso is still recovering from a hamstring contusion with Joan Jordan also unavailable for this fixture. Youssef En-Nesyri stood up yet again in Turin to give Sevilla the lead and we expect him to be a crucial figure in this leg too.

Paul Pogba was subbed off in the 24th minute against Cremonese in Serie A with a hamstring injury after his first start in over a year. Leonardo Bonucci has a tear in his abductor muscle and Mattias De Sciglio also suffered a cruciate ligament injury and both of them are notable miss outs who won't be making the trip to Seville. Filip Kostic and Juan Cuadrado will be the ones providing goods from the wing with Angel Di Maria slightly playing behind Vlahovic as a central attacking midfielder.

Head-to-head Stats

Matches – 6

Sevilla– 1

Draws – 2

Juventus– 3

Predicted Lineup

Sevilla Predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): 

Bounou; Navas, Bade, Gudelj, Acuña; Fernando, Rakitic; Ocampos, Oliver Torres, Lamela; En-Nesyri

Juventus Predicted lineup (3-5-2): 

Szczesny; Gatti, Reis, Danilo; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Di Maria, Vlahovic

Prediction for Sevilla vs Juventus

Sevilla are undoubtedly the kings of this competition but Jose Luis Mendilibar's men have a tough task at hand against a serious opponent who themselves do not have a silverware in their cabinet this season. Juventus have had their turmoils on and off the pitch throughout the season but we expect them to be slightly ahead before this fixture to progress into the finals.

Prediction: Sevilla 1-2 Juventus. (Aggregate Score- Sevilla 2-3 Juventus)

Telecast

India – Sony Sports Network, JioTV, Sony LIV App, and Airtel XStream.

UK – BT Sport, BT Sports App.

US –CBS Univision.

Nigeria – SuperSports.