Manchester United will be back in action this evening as they travel to Spain to face Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League quarter final second leg. After leading the first leg 2-0 with a brace scored by Marcel Sabitzer at Old Trafford last week, they collapsed late in the second half with Tyrell Malacia scoring an own goal before a deflection from the head of Harry Maguire in added time. It was a terrible situation for United to be in which they will have to get through in Seville.
United also lost Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez to injury – the Argentinian is out for the remainder of the season after having surgery. Varane is going to be out for much of the remainder of the month. Bruno Fernandes was booked in the match, meaning he is suspended for this leg – something else that United need to get through added to all the injuries in the squad at this time. United did beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 on Sunday afternoon with Antony and Diogo Dalot scoring.
Sevilla beat Valencia 2-0 in LaLiga on Sunday, still sitting in 13th place in the Spanish league with nine matches remaining this season. Beating United and going on to win the Europa League is their best hop of European football next season. That said, it is United that must step up from the unfortunate aspects of the first leg at Old Trafford and find a way to beat Sevilla, a club they have rot far not beaten in European opposition. Two draws and two defeats in four matches now.
Manchester United
De Gea;
Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Dalot;
Eriksen, Casemiro, Sabitzer;
Antony, Martial, Sancho;
Substitutes
Butland, Vitek; Malacia, Shaw; Fred, Iqbal; Rashford, Weghorst, Pellistri, Elanga
Sevilla
Bounou;
Navas, Bade, Marcao, Acuna;
Gudelj, Fernando;
Ocampos, Rakitic, Lamela;
En-Nesyri
Substitutes
Dmitrovic, Flores, Telles, Rekik, Suso, Mir, Nianzou, Torres, Gomez, Gil
United and Sevilla have met four times competitively in the history of both clubs. They both met in the UEFA Champions League at the round of 16 stage in the 2017/18 season with them drawing 0-0 in the first leg which was played at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. However, United fell to a 2-1 defeat with Wissam Ben Yedder scoring a brace in the 74th and 78th minutes of the match and Romelu Lukaku scoring what became a consolation goal in the 84th minute.
United and Sevilla then met in the UEFA Europa League at the semi final stage in the 2019/20 season which was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The two sides met in Cologne in August 2020. United fell to a 2-1 defeat. Bruno Fernandes scored a ninth minute penalty but in the 26th minute, Ronnie Fernández equalised for Sevilla. Luuk de Jong then scored the winner in the 78th minute to send United home. Last week the teams drew 2-2 with United collapsing at the end.
Adnan Januzaj and Alex Telles are currently Sevilla players although Januazaj is on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir and Telles is on loan from United. Anthony Martial was loaned to the club last season and Javier Hernandez left West Ham United for Sevilla. Januzaj has played six times for Sevilla. Telles has made 29 appearances, getting three assists. Martial made 12 appearances, scoring one goal and one assist and Chicharito made 13 appearances scoring three goals.
Written by John Walker
