Introduction

Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla are up for a breathtaking and thrilling clash in the first leg. Their Champions League last-16 knockout tie is at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, the home ground of Sevilla. Both teams are in desperate need to book a place in the last-8 of the Champions League draw. They will be hoping to come out on top against each other.

The Champions League returns after almost more than 2 months. Football fans all around the world would be hoping to kick-start the European ties with some eye-catching display of football. The two clubs have not met since the group stage of the Europa League in the 2009-10 season. Both are still looking to establish themselves at Europe’s top table.

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Previous Results

Sevilla

The Los Nervionenses have been in great form in all competitions of late. They have won all of their last 9 matches. The most astonishing thing is that they conceded just 1 goal in that entire timeframe. Their defensive has also been chipping in with crucial goals. Their most recent win came against Huesca. A team urgently fighting to get themselves out of the relegation zone and currently the wooden Spooners of La Liga.

Munir El-Haddadi scored the decisive goal in that encounter which saw Sevilla bag all the three points. They then cemented their place in the La Liga top four. Having a 7 point gap over 5th placed Real Sociedad with a game in hand. They also recently defeated Barcelona 2-0 in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semifinals. A game where Ivan Rakitic scoring against his former side. They will be a hard nut to crack for a Dortmund side which is not in the greatest of forms.

Form Guide:-WWWWWW

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund have seen a recent slump in form. They’re now desperately fighting for a spot to play in the next season’s champions league as they are 6 points adrift of fourth-placed Wolfsburg and their hopes of securing it look dashing. They are though going through a transitional season. After sacking the seasoned Lucian Favre, they are continuing with interim coach Edin Terzic with Marco Rose to take over them after summer.

Dortmund recently drew with lowly placed Hoffenheim after losing a 1-0 lead to go 1-2 down after halftime. If it was not for the one and only prolific Haaland to make it 2-2, Dortmund’s situation could have been worse now. They truly need to fix their defensive worries before going into this tough away clash with the Los Palanganas.

Despite Haaland playing well, they’ve only won 2 out of their last 6 games.

Form Guide:-LLWWLD

Head to Head

Sevilla and Dortmund have faced each other only a couple of times. The last dating back to 2010 when these two teams were grouped in the same pool in the Europa League. The first fixture resulted in a stalemate at 2-2. Mats Hummels is the only player from that team to start today. The second leg yielded in a surprise 1-0 away win for Sevilla. In the game, now injured Marcel Schelmzer pick up a red card. There have been no significant matches since then between these two teams.

Team News

Sevilla

Sevilla are without a string of key players going into their home game against the German side. Their star right-back Jesus Navas is out injured and is expected to miss the key Dortmund clash in home ground. Left Back Marcos Acuña is also out of this fixture. He has an injury and cannot serve their side with the much-needed pace these two have. The Los Nervionenses will also be without their star Argentine winger Lucas Ocampos who is also sidelined due to injury.

This Argentine duo could have proved vital for Sevilla if they would have been available. Julen Lopetegui has to make his tactics without taking into consideration the services of these three key players. He will receive the much-needed boost after their exceptional 2-0 win over the La Blaugranas and recognizing his way more experience than BVB coach Edin Terzic.

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund have a very long injury list to speak about. They are without the business of several key first-team players with the rigorous fixtures taking a toll on the big European teams considering they have to play to 2 to 3 matches within a week. Terzic will have to make his ploy to defeat Sevilla lacking the assistance of these big players. The BVB’S will be without their star Goalkeeper Roman Burki who is also expected to miss this key fixture due to injury. Versatile Belgian right-back Thomas Meunier will also be forced to skip this clash owing to injury.

Belgian dependable midfield duo of Thorgan Hazard and Axel Witsel might miss this mega clash only because of Injury. Veteran left-back Marcel Schelmzer, the only player to have previously played against Sevilla in this German side, will also miss this match. Key Defenders Dan-Axel Zagadou and polish Lukasz Piszczek are also sidelined in the case of being injured. Dortmund will have to tackle the difficulties of missing their star players apart from having the adversity of playing in away ground in Spain.

Probable Lineups

Sevilla

Lopetegui will have plenty of chances ahead of picking his lineup for this blockbuster game against Dortmund today. Aleix Vidal should continue in his place as Right Back on account of the injury lay off to  Jesus Navas. Youssef En-Nesyri, who was linked with a move to West Ham United in the recent January transfer window, will compete with Luuk De Jong for a place in attack.

Borussia Dortmund

Terzic will not have the cushion of making his playing XI from a wide range range of players as he has limited match starters coming into this Sevilla game. Most of them are sidelined due to injury and thus will pave the way for others to make their presence felt in the European Circuit.

Regular players such as Meunier, Thorgan Hazard, Witsel, Burki are all missing this game on account of injuries. Marwin Hitz and Emre Can are likely to continue in goal and at right-back respectively in the absence of Burki and Meunier, with 17-year-old England midfielder Jude Bellingham likely to start in midfield.

Players to Watch Out

Jules Kounde

The young defender has been in swashbuckling form this season and has already earned praises from coaches across Europe. Along with very apt in defending, he is also capable of scoring goals upfront with his recent solo goal coming against Barca in the Copa Del Rey semi-finals. He has already scored 3 goals this season and will be an interesting man to watch out for in both offence and defense.

Youssef En-Nesyri

The striker has been in prolific form this season and has scored 13 goals this season in La Liga, behind only Messi and Suarez in the goal scorer standings. He is exactly a box to box striker and is a dangerous player whenever he gets the ball in the 18-yard box. He will be the main man when Sevilla would be looking for goals upfront and his collaboration with the other players is also eye-catching.

Jadon Sancho

The young Englishman is only 20 years of age and is one of the brightest prospects in Europe to watch out for. His creativity in the midfield and his ability to curl in wonder free kicks have helped him to gain supremacy over the supply line between defense and offense over others. He has already notched up 7 assists this season in Bundesliga, behind only Raphael Guerreiro (8) in his team and 6th overall. Dortmund will be hoping for him to fire against the Los Palanganas.

Erling Haaland

The prolific striker has been phenomenal in Dortmund after his joining from Salzburg. He is repeating his 2019-20 form this season also and has already scored 15 goals, behind only Andre Silva and Lewandowski. He is a fox in the box and can score goals from the distant range also. His speed brings Dortmund the chance to score goals from sudden counter-attack s. Terzic will look to utilize his pace and induce pressure in opposition’s defence by sudden counter-attacks. Increasing his tally will also be in focus as he hopes to polish his scoring boots once again.

Conclusion

The match will be a charming one to watch with both teams trying to topple each other to get a place in the quarter-finals of the UCL. It will be precisely a match between Borussia’s attack and Sevilla’s defence, which has not conceded in 8 straight matches, as both coaches will be focusing on to take full control of the midfield to outplay each other. Until Wednesday Evening, stay tuned for an impressive match to take place.

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