Sevilla vs Fenerbahce

Sevilla and Fenerbahce will face off against each other at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

While their La Liga survival continues to hang by a thread, record-time Europa League winners Sevilla are looking to go the distance in Europe’s second-tier competition again after dispatching PSV Eindhoven in the knockout playoffs 3-2 on aggregate. However, the Spaniards have lost three consecutive matches going into this fixture, conceding 2+ goals on each occasion, including a humiliating 6-1 league defeat at Atletico Madrid over the weekend. Despite their abysmal spell of form, ‘Los Rojiblancos’ can draw confidence from winning their last two Europa League home games by an identical 3-0 scoreline. Another free-scoring showing is on the cards, considering Sevilla overcame Fenerbahce 3-2 in their only previous European H2H on home soil.

In the meantime, visiting Fenerbahce steamrolled to a top-place finish in Europa League Group B, going unbeaten in all six matches (W4, D2) while averaging 2.16 goals per game. Their stellar continental campaign is likely to stay on the upward trajectory, given that they’ve won an eye-catching eight of their nine previous encounters against Spanish opposition in major European competitions. Moreover, they’re unbeaten in their last seven Europa League outings (W4, D3) and could equal their longest run without defeat in the tournament dating back to 2016. Considering they’ve won four out of five away games in 2023 (D1), they have no reason not to dream big.