Fiorentina vs Sevilla preview

May 13, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Fiorentina vs SevillaHeading into the second leg with a three-goal deficit, it is perfectly clear that Fiorentina have already missed their chance to take control of the tie.

Sevilla probably did not deserve such a big win in the first match, but they arrive at Artemio Franchi confident of reaching the second successive Europa League final.

Just like the other Italian team in the semi-finals, Fiorentina have utterly failed to match pre-season objectives, and they hoped the Europa League campaign will give the fans something to cheer about.

And while Viola impressed to reach the semi-finals, they struggled to make their dominance count in the first leg against Sevilla and were harshly punished for a succession of missed chances.

The game statistics says that Fiorentina had 14 shots on goal as opposed to the hosts’ 6, but that meant nothing when it was los Rojiblancos who recorded a 3-0 triumph.

Viola were able to return to winning ways at the weekend as they defeated in-form Empoli on the road, and are now 2.30 (13/10) favourites to win the return leg.

Vincenzo Montella is again expected to make wholesale changes, with the likes of Salah, Alonso and Savic among those to be recalled.

Micah Richards has joined the likes of Giuseppe Rossi, Khouma Babacar and Juan Manuel Vargas in the infirmary and has been ruled out for the visit of Sevila.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Neto – Tomovic, Savic, Rodriguez, Alonso – Valero, Badelj, Fernandez – Ilicic, Gomez, Salah.

Sevilla are on the road to become the most successful club ever in UEFA Cup/Europa League history, with los Rojiblancos currently tied with Juventus, Inter and Liverpool on three coveted titles.

The interesting thing is that the Spanish side won their first two trophies in successive years, 2006 and 2007, and having won the title last term, they have a great opportunity to do it all over again.

While slowly losing the race for a top 4 finish in La Liga with Valencia, Sevilla were ruthless in the EL semi-final against Fiorentina, and they are on the verge of making it to the final after a 3-0 win.

Taking also into account that Unai Emery’s charges are unbeaten in last nine away fixtures on all fronts, bear in mind that away win pays 3.25 (9/4).

In spite of the big lead, the boss opted to rest quite a few starters at the weekend, meaning he is likely to revert to his strongest line-up.

Jose Reyes and Benoit Tremoulinas return from a domestic suspension, but Stephane M’Bia and Beto remain injury doubts.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Rico – Vidal, Carrico, Kolodziejczak, Tremoulinas – Iborra, Krychowiak – Vitolo, Banega, Reyes – Bacca.

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