Minnows Mirandes face a mountain to climb after suffering a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

And while Sevilla may be in the driving seat, they cannot afford to relax just yet, with their performances on the road leaving a lot to be desired.

Segunda Division side Mirandes impressed to reach the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, defeating two La Liga sides to set up a clash with Sevilla.

Los Rojillos recorded a double win over Malaga before defeating Deportivo La Coruna 4-1 on aggregate, with the 3-0 triumph at Riazor especially impressive.

Mirandes then suffered back to back losses to Leganes and Sevilla, but the away win over Real Zaragoza achieved at the weekend can give them some hope ahead of the return leg against los Rojiblancos.

Sitting mere two points behind play-off places, los Rojillos could use their impressive Copa del Rey campaign to kick-start their promotion challenge.

The second goal scored by Sevilla deep into injury time has made all the difference for Carlos Terrazas’ charges, who head into the second leg without fresh injury worries.

Probable starting line-up (3-4-3): Fernandez – Galan, Gaffoor, Cantero – Moreno, Provencio, Ruper, Kijera – Sangalli, Prats, Carnicer.

Still competing on all three fronts, Sevilla will be quite busy during the season finale, but the Europa League holders are already used to busy schedule.

With fourth-placed Villarreal now eight points in front, los Rojiblancos may not be able to mount a serious top 4 challenge in La Liga, but I wouldn’t bet against them winning a major trophy this term.

Having been pitted against Molde in the Europa League Last 32 stage, Sevilla can be trusted to again reach the final stages and attempt to lift the third EL trophy in a row.

Meanwhile, los Rojiblancos are on the verge of reaching the Copa del Rey semi-finals, as Vitolo’s last-gasp goal ensured they take a two-goal lead into the second leg.

Sevilla have now been made 1.85 (17/20) favourites to win the return leg, although they will not have an easy task against the very motivated hosts.

Winger Vitolo is available for selection despite receiving a red card at the weekend, while Yevhen Konoplyanka, Kevin Gameiro and Jose Antonio Reyes are all expected to start.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Soria – Mariano, Kolodziejczak, Escudero – Iborra, N’Zonzi – Reyes, Krohn-Dehli, Konoplyanka – Gameiro.