The battle for a place in the final of the UEFA Europa League resumes this Thursday as Juventus travel to Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to to face Sevilla in the second leg of their semi-final tie.
The first leg at the Allianz Stadium ended level, with Juventus coming from a goal down to rescue a 1-1 draw in the 97th minute.
Despite narrowly missing out on a win in the first leg, José Luis Mendilibar’s side will come into this tie as the favourites, given that they play at their famed Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, where they have enjoyed remarkable success.
Sevilla beat Manchester United 3-0 on this ground in the last round after securing a credible 2-2 draw at Old Trafford. However, after winning a 3-0 win away to Real Valladolid in their last outing, they will fancy their chances to win this game.
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The Andalusian side can bank on an almost perfect home record in all UEL football since 2018/19 (W15, D2) to push them through this tie. That run includes six clean sheets in the post-group stage phase (W5 D1).
Meanwhile, Juventus will feel lucky to still be in this tie after a lucky escape in the first leg. They come into this tie on the back of a 2-0 win over Cremonese at the weekend. That win means they need just two points in their remaining three Serie A games to secure a place in the next UEFA Champions League group stage.
That should allow them to throw everything they have at this tie. Having rested key players like Filip Kostić, Manuel Locatelli and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny in the last game, they will hope that they can continue their decent away run in the competition this season (W2, D1).Meanwhile, the first period has been the highest-scoring half in just one of Sevilla’s last 12 competitive games. So, we suggest a first-half goal prediction here.
