Sevilla were assisted in the first leg by a pair of United own goals in the final ten minutes of the match, but sharpened up with two second-half strikes of their own away to Valencia last weekend.
Sevilla
A pair of home clean sheets and wins against PSV Eindhoven (3-0) and Fenerbahce (2-0) in the face of away losses got Sevilla to this quarter-final of the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League, so a 2-2 draw away to Manchester United in the first leg should have left them feeling favourable for progression to their first UEFA Europa League semi-finals since 2019/20, which ironically saw their last win against United! Sevilla were assisted in the first leg by a pair of United own goals in the final ten minutes of the match but sharpened up with two second-half strikes of their own away to Valencia last weekend. They’ll now come into this game undefeated against United as well as against all opponents under new manager Jose Luis Mendilibar.
Given winning a record-extending seventh UEFA Europa League title is likely their only path to European football next season, it was no surprise to see a much-changed lineup visit Valencia at the weekend.
Manchester United
Man United enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 league away win of their own at the weekend against Nottingham Forest and have now seen seven of their last ten victories across all competitions accompanied by a 2 goal margin, whilst it was an eighth straight game without a first-half goal conceded. Assuming the defensive mistakes and subsequent own goals in the first leg were an aberration, they can be confident another strong start will this time be duly rewarded. The 2020/21 UEFA Europs League finalists remain undefeated in European competition since an opening matchday home loss to Real Sociedad, which includes a remarkable three trips to Spain in the space of fewer than six months. They, therefore, have every right to be confident of returning home as semi-finalists, especially not having lost any of their last seven UEFA contests on Spanish soil.
Youssef En-Nesyri recorded Sevilla’s opening goal in three separate UEFA home fixtures this season as well as their most recent home league outing. United midfielder Christian Eriksen will be determined to get some personal revenge on Sevilla after playing for Inter Milan in their 2019/20 UEFA Europa League final loss to Sevilla, and with his last 23 goalscoring club appearances seeing his side on the day avoid defeat, United will hope he can get on the scoresheet. All but two of Sevilla’s last 15 competitive wins were accompanied by a clean sheet.