Sevilla set a new club record of 19 matches undefeated with Tuesday night’s win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and have now won seven of their last eight matches.
They go into Sunday night’s Europa League semi-final against Manchester United in a rich vein of form in a match-up which pits together the two strongest teams in the competition.
That run of eight games has seen them concede just one goal and they have now kept five successive clean sheets.
The team’s success is based on resilience, organisation and intensity, marshaled superbly by the central defensive duo Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde — both of whom were signed from Ligue 1 clubs last summer and both are now in high-demand.
Yet there are also a number of players who offer a goalscoring threat at the other end of the pitch.
Sevilla’s primary flaw this season has been the lack of a prolific strike. Their top scorer in La Liga was Lucas Ocampos, with 14 goals to his name, but there was a notable drop down to the next highest scorer, Luuk de Jong with six.
Dutch striker De Jong did not start in either of the Europa League wins over Roma and Wolves, with January signing Youssef En-Nesyri selected in his place.
A €20million January arrival from Leganes, the Moroccan international is a live-wire striker — much more mobile and agile than target-man De Jong — capable of stretching defences. Despite areas of the 23-year-old’s game still being raw and not without deficiencies, he is a threat both aerially and via counter-attacks - as he showed in netting Sevilla’s second in their win over Roma.
Yet it is Ocampos - who provided the assists for that goal via his timed run and perfectly-timed squared delivery - who is the real goal threat for Julen Lopetegui’s side. The Argentine arrived from Marseille last summer and has netted 18 goals across all competitions this season while providing four assists.
Aged just 24, Sevilla are Ocampos’ sixth club but he has been given a new lease of life in Andalusia and has truly eclipsed his previous form to establish himself as one of La Liga’s best players. Having played much of his career in a midfield role, he is now often deployed on the right-side of a three-man attack at Sevilla, with his tactical awareness and ingenuity as notable as his technical abilities.
It is unclear exactly what role Sevilla’s star player will fulfill against United, with former Liverpool player Suso also expected to occupy one of the wide forward roles. Another January arrival, the 26-year-old is naturally left-footed but has often played on the right - the idea is for him to cut inside and allow Jesus Navas , once of Manchester City, to maraud forward from right-back to deliver from the flank.
The full-backs are a major offensive weapon for Sevilla. Both Navas and Sergio Reguilon have huge attacking responsibilities alongside their defensive duties. Reguilon — owned by Real Madrid and a reported transfer target for Chelsea — showcased his ability with a fine individual goal against Roma, but both he and Navas push high up regularly and deliver crosses into the box. This is a key feature of Sevilla’s play and likely to be critical for United to combat — initially at its source, and then via central defenders aerially — to reduce the threat.
Another key for United will be to crowd Ever Banega in central midfield. The Argentine will leave Sevilla after this competition to move to Saudi Arabia but he is still one of the finest midfield operators in La Liga and is capable of controlling the game. Limiting his time and space on the ball is pivotal for snuffing out Sevilla in the final third and this could heighten the likelihood of the combative Fred being deployed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
While Ocampos is the standout player, this is a Sevilla side whose threat lies all over the pitch and who cannot be allowed to control the game. The game is likely to be won and lost in the midfield battle, while much will depend on how effectively Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams shut down the flanks.
