Manchester United vs Sevilla

Manchester United’s pursuit of their first Europa League title since 2016/17 pits them against record-time winners Sevilla in a mouth-watering quarter-final tie at Old Trafford.

Since suffering a 1-0 home loss to Real Sociedad on matchday one, Manchester United have gone from strength to strength in the Europa League, racking up eight victories in their last nine matches (D1). Erik ten Hag’s men have already ousted two Spanish sides in the knockout stages this season, overcoming Barcelona and Real Betis, respectively. While they’ve won their last three European meetings with La Liga opposition, the ‘Red Devils’ are winless in all three previous encounters against Sevilla (D1, L2). But Old Trafford could be the catalyst to turn United’s fortunes around, considering they’ve registered an overwhelming 87% win ratio across their 15 competitive home games in 2023 (W13, D2), most recently thumping Everton 2-0 at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Sevilla squeezed past Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce in the previous Europa League knockout round, as a 1-0 second-leg defeat in Istanbul failed to undo their 2-0 advantage from the first leg. However, that loss in Turkey means ‘Los Rojiblancos’ are now winless on their last 11 continental travels (D5, L6), including three defeats in a row ahead of this trip. Led by new boss Jose Luis Mendilibar, Sevilla won 2-0 at Cadiz on the 62-year-old’s touchline debut but could only manage a 2-2 home draw against Celta Vigo last time out. With only five points separating them from La Liga’s drop zone, the Andalusian giants will unlikely feel comfortable in Manchester. Adding to this sentiment, before that triumph at Cadiz, Sevilla had lost four consecutive away games by an aggregate score of 11-1.