Sevilla will host Lens in the Champions League after both teams have endured disastrous starts to the season. Les Sang et Or won the silver medal in Ligue 1, while Los Palanganas added the Europa League championship number seven to their collection to qualify for the continent’s elite event last season. The two teams will also play Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven for a knockout spot.
Preview (Sevilla vs. Lens)
No matter how bad Sevilla’s La Liga season was during the 2022–23 season, Jose Luis Mendilibar led Los Palanganas to a record-extending seventh victory in the competition with a penalty-shootout victory over Roma in the dramatic championship match. Sevilla had previously briefly flirted with relegation before Mendilibar stabilized the ship. Their continental success was the ideal cure for their unsatisfactory 12th-place finish in the top division. However, this season’s bottom-of-the-table battle may be in the cards due to their disastrous start.
Sevilla was defeated in each of their first three La Liga games of the new season against Valencia, Alaves, and Girona. They lost to Manchester City in the UEFA Super Cup – a game where their prior penultimate-round success eluded them. However, a Sergio Ramos homecoming finally helped Los Palanganas shut down Las Palmas last time out. The entire Sevilla fanbase did not welcome Ramos’s return to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan. It was the four-time Champions League winner’s second appearance for the team. Mendilibar’s men held Las Palmas at bay and won 1-0 courtesy to a second-half Dodi Lukebakio goal.
A first competitive victory in two months is exactly what the doctor ordered for a Palanganas team that has only won two of their last 14 games in the Champions League. Sevilla could have and perhaps should have, won by more on the day, but Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles miraculously managed to stop a Youssef En-Nesyri strike from crossing the line. However, both of Sevilla’s victories in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 group stages came at the Ramon Sanchez–Pizjuan, a venue where Lens could, barring a sharp turn for the better, become Los Palanganas’ next victims.
Team News
Ramos’ return at just the right time for Sevilla, who are currently without left-back Marcos Acuna and center-backs Marcao and Tanguy Nianzou due to hamstring and quadriceps injuries, respectively. Ramos should be fine to play again unless his 37-year-old legs need a rest. Goalkeeper Alfonso Pastor is also recovering from knee surgery. Marko Dmitrovic to continue as the last line of defense. However, former Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj has been left out of the hosts’ CL squad.
Due to his game-winning goal against Las Palmas, Lukebakio may have also earned a start over Suso. Youssef En-Nesyri, who scored against Man City, should take Rafa Mir’s place at number nine. Long-term ACL victims for Lens Jimmy Cabot and Wuilker Farinez are still out of the running. David Costa is out with a shoulder injury. However, Nampalys Mendy is back in the lineup after overcoming a thigh injury.
Positively, Argentine defender Facundo Medina will rejoin Kevin Danso and Jonathan Gradit in the familiar back three after serving a domestic suspension, however, Deiver Machado and Ruben Aguilar may lose their positions on the wings to Faitout Maouassa and Przemyslaw Frankowski. The 20-year-old Elye Wahi’s goalless run in a Lens jersey extended to three games against Metz. The summer addition should continue to play at the point of his team’s assault.
The major reason Lens failed to rattle the net over the weekend was due in large part to an inspired Oukidja. The Openda-less visitors have battled to find attacking inspiration all season. They are unlikely to reverse their fortunes against a Ramos-managed Sevilla defense. Mendilibar’s team has been deceiving on the domestic front as well. Confidence will be stronger in the home team’s camp as a result of their belated opening triumph.
Sevilla 1 – 0 Lens
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