Sevilla looking forward to winning Europa League title

MADRID: Spanish La Liga side Sevilla are aiming to take another step towards a seventh Europa League title when they entertain Juventus in their Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Thursday night.

Only a goal late in injury time denied Sevilla a 1-0 win in Turin a week ago and Juventus will have to deal with packed stands and an intense atmosphere in Sevilla’s home ground.

The side coached by veteran Jose Luis Mendilibar used that atmosphere to good effect in the quarterfinals when they thrashed Manchester United 3-0 and they go into Thursday’s match after a 3-0 La Liga win away to Valladolid at the weekend.

Mendilibar has been key to the club’s turnaround in recent weeks from relegation candidates to challengers in Europe, with the club losing just one in 11 games since he replaced Jorge Sampaoli as coach.

His move to Sevilla has seen the former Eibar coach reunited with midfielder Joan Jordan and winger Bryan Gil - both of whom worked with him at Eibar and although Jordan is an injury doubt for Thursday, Gil is delighted to be back at the club where he began his career and working with a man he knows well.

“I’m here because (Director of Sport) Monchi and Sampaoli wanted me, but when I saw that Mendilibar, a man who got the best from me at Eibar, was coming, I was really happy.”

“He’s getting the best out of our team and we are seeing that on the pitch,” said Gil in an interview with Spanish sports paper Diario AS.

Winger Suso will miss out through injury on Thursday, while influential defender Pape Gueye wasn’t included in Sevilla’s squad for Europe and is ineligible to play. IANS

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