Sevilla welcome the visit of Manchester City in Group D of the Champions League on Tuesday night, as the La Liga club aim to keep their hopes of qualification alive with a win on home soil.
Travelling City, meanwhile, know that three points would solidify their aspirations for progression having already snatched a win over Sevilla at the Etihad last month.
Sevilla
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Unai Emery's charges will have been pleased with what they produced when they made the visit to Manchester, where they almost stole a valuable point on their travels.
During that clash at the Etihad, Sevilla had shown some impressive defensive resolve as well as the ability to break away on the counter, and the way in which they were able to move through City's midfield will give them some attacking confidence come Tuesday night.
Kevin De Bruyne's last-minute heroics might have dampened the spirits of the Sevilla players, but they will know that they are capable of producing the required results at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium when they are on their game.
Emery and his men responded to that disappointment straight away when they flew back to Spain by pulling off a commanding 5-0 win over Getafe in a La Liga game that saw frontman Kevin Gameiro produce a memorable hat-trick.
The Spanish side did not have the best of results in their next league fixture, however, as they were overcome 2-1 by high-flying Villarreal away from home.
The club are probably well aware that defeat to City this week would more than likely place elimination on their doorstep, and they will now have to dig deep following the news that Gameiro will be missing through a hamstring injury.
Los Rojiblancos do have some favourable history on their side, though, and will be looking to statistics that show that they have never lost at home during the group stages of the Champions League, having won six fixtures and drawn one in the tournament.
Recent form (all competitions): LWDLWL
Manchester City
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Manuel Pellegrini will know that his side's attacking display for much of their home clash against Sevilla was far from good enough, but he will be delighted with the commitment shown to push for three points right until the death.
The Sky Blues built on that late win by producing a strong defensive display to earn a point at Manchester United in the Premier League, before producing two wins on the bounce in all competitions against Crystal Palace and Norwich City.
Questions were asked of City following some limp forward play on matchday three, although they responded with a five-goal demolition of Palace and a hard-fought three points against the Canaries in fixtures that could finally restore some attacking confidence to a side without the pivotal presence of Sergio Aguero.
City will know that a victory away in Spain could be vital to their chances of ensuring qualification with an away trip to Juventus still to come, and Pellegrini will be desperate to grab three points that could slightly ease the pressure on his side before they travel to the Old Lady towards the end of the month.
To do that, however, the Manchester club will need to turn around some rather torrid form away in Spain that has seen City lose by one goal in each of their last three Champions League matches played in the country.
The club's previous victory over Sevilla proved to be their first victory over Spanish opponents since 2011 and they will need more of the same on Tuesday night in order to push their hopes of progression closer towards fruition.
Recent form (all competitions): WWWDWW
Team News
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Gameiro's injury should mean that Sevilla will have to rely on either Ciro Immobile or Fernando Llorente in attack.
The Spaniards will also be sweating on the fitness of prominent playmaker Ever Banega, who is currently nursing an ankle injury.
Wilfried Bony missed a hatful of chances against Norwich at the weekend, but he will be keen to push to retain his starting place alone up top for the visitors.
Pellegrini is likely to recall winger Raheem Sterling, who is expected to work alongside De Bruyne and Jesus Navas just behind the striker.
Fabian Delph and Gael Clichy are back in training, but remain doubtful along with full-back Pablo Zabaleta. City will likely still be without David Silva, as well as Samir Nasri and Aguero.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Rico; Tremoulinas, Kolodziejczak, Rami, Coke; Krychowiak, N'Zonzi; Krohn-Dehli, Banega, Vitolo; Immobile
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Hart; Kolarov, Kompany, Otamendi, Sagna; Toure, Fernandinho; Bruyne, Sterling, Navas; Bony
Head To Head
The game that City won 2-1 in October was the only competitive fixture played between these two sides, meaning that the Sky Blues currently have a slightly misleading 100% winning record against Sevilla.
We say: Sevilla 1-1 Manchester City
City seem to have improved going forward in recent weeks and they will be hungry to claim three points that would push them closer towards qualification for the knockout stages. Pellegrini and his men will, however, be facing a Sevilla side that will be desperate to avoid defeat and keep their slim hopes of progression alive. The Manchester club have not travelled particularly well to Spain in recent times and they will arguably do well to come away with a point.
Christopher Dodd
