As it stands, neither Sevilla or Fiorentina will qualify for next season’s Champions League through their domestic leagues. That means that the Europa League takes on even more significance, if it needed it, as the winners will qualify for Europe’s premier club competition. Sevilla, the defending champions, are three points behind fourth place Valencia with only three games left, whilst Fiorentina have virtually no chance of finishing in the top three in Serie A, so targeting a win in this tournament has long been their aim.
When defeating Benfica on penalties in last year’s final, the obvious next step for Sevilla and their manager, Unai Emery, was to make the step up to competing in the Champions League. Achieving that through their league performance would obviously have been their first target but there’s no getting away from how valuable their experience of the Europa League will be at this stage. The Spanish club are going for their fourth win in this competition in the last decade, having won successive tiles in 2006 and 2007. It really is a tremendous record and one which illustrates how consistent they have been at this level. However, if they get their way, this current and Sevilla squad will be delighted if they manage to avoid playing in the Europa League next season.
Fiorentina simply do not have the same pedigree in European competition as their opponents on Thursday, and fall way behind the other top Italian teams. With that in mind – combined with, at times, indifferent domestic form – it is somewhat of a surprise to see them reach the semi-final stage. Before this season La Viola have only won the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup but they have reached the final of the European and Europa Cups. The most recent of this final appearances came in 1990 so it has been a long time for their supporters to wait for another potential final. As the old saying goes, though, nobody remembers a semi-finalist, so there remains plenty for them to do.
Real Betis were the last team to defeat Sevilla at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in the Europa League, when their city rivals won 2-0 back in March 2013. Since then, they have won their next eight, giving an indication of how strong they have been at home in this tournament. They will have their work cut out against Fiorentina, however, who themselves have excelled in this season’s Europa League, particularly away from home. Vincenzo Montella’s team have yet to taste defeat on their travels in Europe in this campaign, winning four and drawing two. One of their biggest strengths when playing away is how dangerous they are in attack; their six games have seen them score 11 goals. If they can add to that tally on Thursday evening, it could go a long way to qualifying them for the final.
This is definitely the pick of the two semi-finals and both clubs will be confident of progressing to the final in Warsaw at the end of the month. Sevilla’s record in the Europa League is there for all to see and the fact they are defending their title will only add to their determination. Fiorentina may not have the same history as their opponents but their squad contains a lot of experienced players who have played regularly at the top level in European football, not least their striker Mario Gomez. I struggle to see this tie being settled after the first leg as both clubs have managers well versed in the tactical side of the game. I do think, however, that Sevilla will take a lead into the return leg. The Spaniards have shown excellent consistency in their own stadium. The defeat to Real Madrid at the weekend was the first time a visiting team has won there this season, and they showed in the latter stages of last year’s competition how efficient they are by dismantling Porto in the quarter-finals before seeing off a Valencia in the semi. Fiorentina have exceeded expectation thus far but this will be their biggest test and it may just be a step too far.
Sevilla 5/6 @ Paddypower
