Today evening at 21:45, the Europa League final will take place, where "Liverpool" and "Sevilla" will not only compete for the prestigious trophy, but also try to secure a spot in next year's Champions League and rewrite the history of this tournament. Eurofootball.com provides you with a review of these matches.
"Liverpool" - "Sevilla"
The road to the final:
"Liverpool":
In Group B of the Europa League, they finished first with 10 points.
Sixteenth-finals: against "Augsburg" – 0-0, 1-0;
Eighth-finals: against "Manchester United" – 2-0, 1-1;
Quarter-finals: against "Borussia" – 1-1, 4-3;
Semi-finals: against "Villarreal" – 0-1, 3-0.
"Sevilla":
In Group D of the Champions League, they finished third with 6 points.
Sixteenth-finals: against "Molde" – 3-0, 0-1;
Eighth-finals: against "Basel" – 0-0, 3-0;
Quarter-finals: against "Athletic" – 2-1, 1-2 (5-4 in penalty shootout);
Semi-finals: against "Shakhtar" – 2-2, 3-1.
Team form:
After the Europa League semi-final matches, "Liverpool" played three more matches in the local league. They won one and had two draws. In the last matches, as usual, Jurgen Klopp allowed the main players to rest.
In Spain, "Sevilla" played two matches and experienced defeats in both. However, those matches did not affect their position in the league standings. The team coach Unai Emery experimented with the lineup in both matches.
Team injuries and returns:
For "Liverpool," captain Jordan Henderson returned last weekend after five weeks without football. Divock Origi is also expected to be fully ready for this match, but they will be missing the suspended Mamadou Sakho.
"Sevilla" still will be without Michael Krohn-Dehli and Jose Antonio Reyes, who have been out since April. Benoit Tremoulinas is expected to return and play in the Europa League final.
Pre-match quotes from coaches:
"Without a doubt, I hope for an intense battle. The players will face difficulties in all areas of the field, and there will be a lot of fighting. You cannot win a trophy by giving only part of yourself. You have to show that you are ready for such significant moments. The teams' chances are equal - 50-50. There will be intense matches with a lot of pressure, which started well before the opening whistle, but personally, the more pressure there is on me, the calmer I am. This is the final of a European tournament, so what could be more important than that? I know that in a week and a half, there will be the Champions League final, but these are the only matches until the European Championship that will be more important," said Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp before the match.
"The games in these finals and the fight for titles have brought a lot of emotions, and that has made the work at Sevilla club special. Sevilla is a historic club that has always had good periods, but at this time, we are full of positive attitude and passion, which helps us reach all those finals and win titles. Our team is focused on this tournament. You have to show all your good qualities to go a long way in this tournament. The fact that we have reached the third consecutive final shows that we are motivated and hungry to perform well in the Europa League and win it. We know that there will be many Liverpool fans in the final, which motivates us to play a good match against a great team and achieve our goal - to fight for trophies," said Sevilla coach Unai Emery.
Predicted lineups:
"Liverpool": Mignolet; Alberto Moreno, Toure, Lovren, Clyne; Milner, Can, Lallana, Coutinho, Firmino; Sturridge.
"Sevilla": Soria; Mariano, Rami, Carrico, Tremoulinas; Krychowiak, N`Zonzi, Coke, Banega, Vitolo; Gameiro.
Key facts before the match:
Both teams have reached seven Europa League/UEFA Cup finals together and have won all of them;
Liverpool won both finals played against Spanish teams - in 1981 they defeated Real in the European Cup final, and in 2001 they overcame Alaves in the UEFA Cup final;
Liverpool lost only one match in the Europa League this season out of 14 (6 wins, 7 draws). The loss came in the first leg of the semi-final against Villarreal (0-1);
Spanish clubs have won seven of the last twelve Europa League/UEFA Cup titles (Sevilla 4, Atletico 2, Valencia 1);
In this season's Europa League tournament, Liverpool has had goals scored by 11 different players - a feat no other participating team can boast;
Sevilla has celebrated victory in three out of the last eight matches against English teams (2 draws, 3 losses). One of these victories came in the 2006 UEFA Cup final against Middlesbrough.
Tautvydas Sakalauskas
