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Verdict: Total goals under 2.5Best odds: 40/85Bookmaker: This years Europa League final is scheduled to take place this Wednesday at the Ferenc Puskas Arena in Budapest, and the two teams fighting for the trophy in the Hungarian capital are Sevilla and AS Roma.SevillaWith one round left to be played in the La Liga this season, Sevilla are currently in 11th place with 49 points, and due to the congestion of teams in that area of the table, they could finish anywhere between 12th and seventh place after their clash with Real Sociedad on Sunday. Osasuna, currently in seventh, have 50 points, as do Athletic Bilbao in eighth. Sevilla share their tally with Girona in ninth and Rayo Vallecano in 10, while 12th-place Mallorca have 47.But back to the Europa League, where Jose Mendilibars team got by finishing third in Group G of the Champions League, behind Manchester City and Boru sia Dortmund and ahead of FC Copenhagen.In the play-offs which followed the group stage, Sevilla beat PSV Eindhoven over two legs and got into the round of 16 to edge Grant Fuhr Jersey past Fenerbahce. The quarterfinals saw them blast Manchester United aside, and then they had to eliminate Juventus in the semifinals.In all competitions, Sevillas last-six run includes the first leg against Juventus in Turin which ended Connor McDavid Jersey as a 1-1 draw. Then they beat Valladolid 0-3 away and beat Juventus in the second leg, 2-1 after extra time. They failed to win any of the games played since, drawing 0-0 in the Derby of Seville against Real Betis, drawing 1-1 away to last-place Elche, and losing 1-2 at home to Real Madrid.One of the main things that will boost Sevillas confidence ahead of this final is the fact that they are the record holders in this competition, with six of its trophies to their name.Team NewsMarcos Acuna is suspended following his controversial red card against Juventus, and fellow defenders Marcao and Tanguy Nianzou are doubts as they recover from their respective injury i sues. Still, Mendilibars squad is well-stocked.Ya sine Bounou will return to goal instead of Marko Dmitrovic as Sevillas main goalkeeper in this competition. Veteran Jesus Navas should captain the side from the right defensive flank, with Loic Bade and Nemanja Gudelj in the middle, and Alex Telles on the left. Fernando and Ivan Rakitic will pair up in midfield, while the trio of Lucas Ocampos, Oliver Torres and Bryan Gil support striker You sef En-Nesyri in attack.AS RomaSevilla may have their own reasons for optimism in this game, but Roma will draw strength from the fact that no team commanded by Jose Mourinho ever lost a European final, and he has been involved in five of them so far. The controversial Portuguese tactician seems be made for games like this.Mourinho, of course, led Roma to the first-ever trophy of the Europa Conference League last season, becoming the first manager to win all three UEFA competitions, while ensuring his team had a place in this seasons Europa League. They were drawn in Group C and finished second Andrej Sekera Jersey to Betis, ahead of Ludogorets and HJK. In the post-group play-offs, Roma were better than RB Salzburg over two legs, and followed that up with wins over Real Sociedad in the round of 16 and Feyenoord in the quarterfinals, before edging past Bayer Leverkusen in the semis.Over in the Serie A, Mourinhos team have lost all hope of qualifying for the Champions League, sitting sixth with a seven-point deficit to AC Milan in fourth and just one round left to play. Even their place in the Europa League isnt safe at this point, with Juventus trailing only by a point. Roma will obviously need to beat Spezia on Sunday to make sure; unle s, that is, they manage to beat Sevilla in this game and win the competition now, in which case theyll play in the Champions League regardle s of what happens on Sunday.It appears Mourinho and his men are very much focused on this particular trophy, given that they havent won a Serie A game since mid-April and completely threw their table position down the wind. Their last-six run in all competitions consists of a 0-2 home defeat to Inter Milan, a 1-0 win at home over Leverkusen in the first leg of the Europa League semifinal, a goalle s draw away to Bologna and another one away Ryan Smyth Jersey to Leverkusen in the second leg, a 2-2 home draw against Salernitana and a 2-1 defeat away to Fiorentina.Team NewsPaulo Dybala was out for over a month with an ankle injury, but the Argentinian forward is expected to boost Mourinhos ranks Wayne Gretzky Jersey in Budapest as second-half substitute. Defenders Marash Kumbulla and Rick Karsdorp are out.With Rui Patricio between the posts, Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling and Roger Ibanez should form the back line. Wing-backs Zeki Celik and Leonardo Spinazzola will flank Bryan Cristante and Nemanja Matic in the middle of the park. Lorenzo Pellegrini, and Stephan El Shaarawy (if Dybala isnt fully fit) will provide support for Tammy Abraham upfront.ConclusionThere are no easy answers when it comes to games like this, but there might be some indications that may help in gue sing at least some of the developments that will eventually happen. These are both teams of high quality with top experts leading from the dugouts, and the outcome might go either way.However, neither side will want to open their ranks too much too early; at least not unle s a goal comes early as a result of some unexpected chance.Verdict: Total goals under 2.5Best odds: 40/85Bookmaker: |
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发表于 2023-5-31 19:58:19