Copenhagen vs Sevilla

Out-of-form Sevilla take a trip to the Parken Stadium to meet Copenhagen in a bottom-half Champions League Group G encounter.

Copenhagen’s first foray into the Champions League group stages since 2016/17 has been off to a stuttering start as Borussia Dortmund humbled them 3-0 in their opening Group G fixture. Jess Thorup’s men failed to recover and slumped to an underwhelming 2-1 defeat away to domestic rivals Odense at the weekend. Things are not looking bright from Copenhagen’s point of view, as they’ve gone winless in all 12 European matches against Spanish opponents (D4, L8). However, the reigning Danish champions can draw confidence from their most recent Champions League group stage appearance that saw them keep a clean sheet in all three home outings (W1, D2). Interestingly, Copenhagen conceded more goals at Dortmund (3) last time out than in all six fixtures in their most recent Champions League group phase campaign (2).

Meanwhile, Sevilla’s third consecutive Champions League group stage appearance has not started as planned, with Julen Lopetegui’s side succumbing to a morale-damaging 4-0 home defeat to Manchester City on matchday one. Lopetegui has come under heavy scrutiny after his team suffered four losses in their opening five competitive games (D1) but eased some pressure by leading ‘Los Rojiblancos’ to an enthralling 3-2 La Liga win over Espanyol at the weekend. Inspired by a long-awaited victory, Sevilla will be looking to defy their disastrous four-game run in the Champions League group phase (W1, L3). But after conceding 2+ goals in five of their six competitive outings this season, the Andalusians have every right to feel concerned about their prospects here.