Sevilla vs West Ham United

Sevilla will take on West Ham United at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for the first leg of their handsomely-looking UEFA Europa League last-16 tie.

The record-time UEFA Cup/Europa League winners squeezed past Dinamo Zagreb in the previous knock-out round, following up a 3-1 first-leg win with a 1-0 defeat in Croatia. Sevilla are appearing in the Europa League round of 16 for a record sixth time, while they’ve gone unbeaten in their last 32 Europa League home fixtures against non-Spanish opposition (W27, D5). Since succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to Lille in the Champions League group stages back in autumn, ‘Los Rojiblancos’ have strung together ten competitive home games without losing (W7, D3), turning Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan into a fortress. West Ham’s visit could undermine that run, but Sevilla’s 100% unbeaten ratio against English visitors in the UEFA Cup/Europa League (W5, D2) suggests otherwise. Yet, their overall European record against English clubs reads indifferently (W8, D6, L5).

On the other hand, West Ham found their Europa League Group H a stroll, racking up four wins from their opening five group matches (D1) before being downed 1-0 by Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 6. Though they boast a 100% record against Spanish clubs in two-legged European ties (W2), this is their first such contest in over 30 years. A lack of experience in UEFA competition could prove costly as the ‘Hammers’ hope to improve on their underwhelming ten-game UEFA Cup/Europa League form outside England (W3, D2, L5). Worryingly, though, David Moyes’ men have faltered on hostile turf of late, with back-to-back defeats away to Southampton and Liverpool requiring an immediate upgrade. Excluding extra-time, the Londoners are winless in their last five competitive games on the road (D2, L3), netting under 1.5 goals on four occasions in that sequence.