Regardless of what happens from here on in for Sevilla, Thursday’s hosts, Sevilla, will be playing Champions League football next season after achieving a top four spot at the of the recently finished La Liga season, but they’ll be keen to progress in this Europa League.
An impressive second half of the season for Sevilla saw the hosts put together a solid and impressive 17-match unbeaten sequence in all competitions which not only secured a 4th place finish in La Liga, but also helped them win Group A of the group stage of the Europa League by a five-point margin ahead of runners-up, APOEL Nicosia.
Sevilla did what they were expected to do in what was admittedly a rather weak group which also consisted of the likes of Azerbaijan outfit, Qarabag, and Luxembourg side, Dudelange, as the Spanish club won five of their six group matches.
📜 REPORT | Our European record in August. ⚽️🇪🇺#WeareSevilla #UEL— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) August 3, 2020
📜 REPORT | Our European record in August. ⚽️🇪🇺#WeareSevilla #UEL
However, Sevilla will now come up against much stronger opposition in the shape of Roma, and having drawn nine of their last 17 matches in all competitions, Sevilla may not be guaranteed a straightforward win in this tie.
Onto Roma, and unlike Sevilla, the visitors will have to make do with another appearance in next season’s Europa League as they finished in a disappointing 5th place at the end of the Serie A season - unless, they manage to win this season’s Europa League of course.
This may not be entirely out of the question either as Roma finished the Serie A season in excellent fashion, winning seven of their last eight matches which will inspire confidence and belief ahead of this Europa league tie at Sevilla on Thursday.
Results away from home overall have picked up in recent times as Roma recorded a four-match winning streak on their travels in Serie A, but their outings on the road in recent times in the Europa League have yielded a more modest return.
Defeats at Lyon and Borussia Moenchengladbach have been tempered by victories at Villarreal and Istanbul Basaksehir, while suffering just two losses from their previous 11 matches on the road in the Europa League.
Five draws within this 11-match sequence away from home in this competition also suggests that an away win may be unlikely in normal time, but Roma should have enough about them to stay in this tie.
Scores level at the end of normal time therefore looks to be on the cards here.