Wolverhampton Wanderers will be looking to book their spot in the semi-finals of the Europa League when they take on Sevilla in Duisburg on Tuesday night.
The Premier League club overcame Olympiacos in the round of 16 to advance to the final eight, while Sevilla impressively eliminated Roma from the competition to ensure that they would be present at this stage.
Match preview
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Wolves were unable to claim a Champions League spot for next season via their Premier League finish, ultimately finishing seventh in the table, losing their final league game of the campaign at Chelsea to fall behind Tottenham Hotspur.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side would qualify for the 2020-21 competition by winning the Europa League, though, and they are now just two games away from the final, having edged past Olympiacos on Thursday night.
The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg back in March, but a first-half penalty from Raul Jimenez saw the English club record a 2-1 aggregate success to advance to the final eight.
Wolves could meet Manchester United in the semi-finals of this tournament next weekend, although they cannot afford to take Sevilla lightly in what will be the first meeting between the two sides in UEFA competition.
Nuno's side actually began this Europa League campaign in July 2019, while they have already overcome Spanish opposition this season, eliminating Espanyol in the last-32 stage of the competition.
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Sevilla, meanwhile, beat Roma 2-0 in Duisburg on Thursday night, with the last-16 tie taking place as a one-off encounter as the two sides were unable to play a first leg before the coronavirus outbreak.
Goals from Sergio Reguilon and Youssef En-Nesyri saw the Spanish outfit triumph, and they will be feeling good about themselves, having also enjoyed a strong La Liga campaign, ultimately finishing fourth in the table.
Julen Lopetegui's side are actually unbeaten in all competitions since the start of February, while they have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions, including a 1-0 victory over Valencia in their last league game of the season, which came back on July 19.
Sevilla have also been victorious in all three of their previous Europa League quarter-finals, while they have won this competition, including in its previous format, on five occasions, with their last success coming in 2015-16.
Los Nervionenses will certainly be wary of the threat that Wolves can provide, but the Spanish outfit will fancy their chances of advancing to the final four.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Europa League form: DWWLDW
Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions): LWDWLW
Sevilla Europa League form: WWLDDW
Sevilla form (all competitions): WWWDWW
Team News
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Wolves will be unable to call upon Daniel Podence due to the yellow card that the attacker picked up against Olympiacos last time out, while left-sided wing-back Jonny Castro will also be absent, having suffered a serious knee injury in the same match.
As a result, Ruben Vinagre is likely to come into the XI, while there could also be a start for Leander Dendoncker in midfield, with Nuno potentially reverting to a 3-5-2 formation.
Diogo Jota could join Jimenez as part of a front two, leaving Adama Traore as an impact substitute in a match that could quite easily be decided from the bench.
As for Sevilla, aside from Nemanja Gudelj, who recently tested positive for coronavirus, the squad is in excellent shape heading into the quarter-final.
It would not be a surprise to see Lopetegui name the same XI that started against Roma, although Munir El Haddadi for Suso is an alteration that could happen in the final third.
Luuk de Jong is also pushing for a start at the expense of En-Nesyri, but the latter was on the scoresheet in the round of 16 and has now netted 10 times in all competitions this term.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Doherty, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Neves, Vinagre; Jimenez, Jota
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Vaclik; Navas, Carlos, Kounde, Reguilon; Fernando, Jordan, Banega; Ocampos, En-Nesyri, Munir
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Sevilla
Wolves will be desperate to impress in their first European quarter-final for 48 years, but Sevilla's recent form has been excellent, and we just fancy the Spanish outfit to shade a close game on Tuesday night.
Top betting tip
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Matt Law
