Wolves v Sevilla: Prediction, Preview, Team News and more | UEFA Europa League 2019-20
One of the competition's most successful clubs, Sevilla will face England's Wolverhampton Wanderers in their quest to win a record fourth UEFA Europa League title.
Both clubs registered impressive wins to qualify for this intriguing quarter-final battle. Sevilla outshone AS Roma 2-0, while the club from England's West Midlands secured a narrow 1-0 win (2-1 on aggregate) over Greek outfit Olympiacos.
Both clubs have a good chance of lifting the Europa League crown this season, as their roster is filled with top-class players who can turn the tie around single-handedly.
However, one of the competition's heavyweights will have to bow out. Sevilla do head into this match as favourites, albeit not by a massive margin. Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves have a knack of punching above their weight.
This is best represented by their remarkable league double over giants Manchester City in the Premier League this season.
It should be a fantastic game of football regardless of the result, as there are plenty of star footballers on display.
Wolves v Sevilla Head-to-Head
If previous meetings are any barometer to predict the result, the winner of this match remains a complete mystery. The two sides have never faced each other before and will lock horns for the very first time in their illustrious histories.
Wolves have spent quite a few seasons in England's lower divisions before getting back into the big time in the Premier League. They were one of the world's best teams in the middle of the 20th century but never faced Sevilla in their heyday.
Wolves have fared well against Spanish opposition this season, beating Espanyol in the Round of 32 stage. Sevilla, on the other hand, pose a much greater challenge. The Andalusian side have a fine record against English teams themselves, with wins over Liverpool and Manchester United still fresh in one's mind.
Wolves will be looking to emulate Leicester City's triumph over Sevilla a few seasons back when they beat the Spanish outfit 3-2 on aggregate in the Champions League Round of 16.
Wolves v Sevilla Team News
Wolves
First-choice left-back Jonny Castro Otto will be out not only for this match but the rest of the calendar year as well, having ruptured his ACL in the match against Olympiacos. Young Portuguese full-back Ruben Vinagre will most likely deputise for Jonny. Another youngster, Lewis Richards, has been called up from the youth team for Wolves.
In-form forward Daniel Podence will also be a big miss having earned himself an extremely cheap yellow card in the previous match. His refusal to walk off the pitch via the shortest route possible on being substituted was extremely silly, to say the least. And his club will have to do without his services for this crunch clash.
Injuries: Jonny
Doubtful: None
Suspension: Daniel Podence
Sevilla
First-choice goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik returned from injury against Roma but wasn't fit enough to start the match. Yassine Bounou continued to don the gloves for Sevilla, but manager Julen Lopetegui has a harder decision to make this time around. It could go either way.
The Spanish side have a fairly healthy squad otherwise and are expected to go with the same team they fielded against Roma. Their strength lies in their star full-backs Jesus Navas and Sergio Reguilon.
The two have arguably been the best full-back pairing in LaLiga this season and have enjoyed very decent European campaigns thus far. In fact, Reguilon was also named the Europa League Player of the Week.
Injuries: None
Doubts: None
Suspensions: None
Wolves v Sevilla Predicted XI
Wolves predicted XI (3-5-2): Rui Patricio; Willy Boly, Conor Coady, Roman Saiss; Matt Doherty, Ruben Neves, Leander Dendoncker, Joao Moutinho; Ruben Vinagre; Diogo Jota, Raul Jimenez.
Sevilla predicted XI (4-3-3): Tomas Vaclik; Jesus Navas, Diego Carlos, Jules Kounde, Sergio Reguilon; Joan Jordan, Fernando Reges, Ever Banega; Suso, Youssef En-Nesyri, Lucas Ocampos.
Wolves v Sevilla Prediction
Both teams will have to play close to their highest potential in order to qualify for the semi-finals. Sevilla were fantastic against Roma and completely dominated the Italians. The same can't be said about Wolves' performance against Olympiacos.
It is tough to not fancy Sevilla in any Europa League game. They are yet to lose a single Europa quarter-final, having lifted the trophy on all of the previous three occasions. Wolves, on the other hand, are playing their first European quarter-final in 48 years.
On top of that, Sevilla are on an 18-match unbeaten run (9W 9D) across all competitions - their longest ever unbeaten run as a top-flight club. Wolves, though, have sufficient offensive firepower to breach the Sevilla defence.
They have managed to score in every single game in the Europa League this season, bar their first match against Braga at home.
So it might be safe to suggest that both teams will score, but Sevilla will eventually bag one or two more goals than their opponents.
Final Verdict: Wolves 1-2 Sevilla