Two teams that suffered disappointing defeats in their Champions League openers last week will lock horns in Denmark on Wednesday evening, as Copenhagen welcome Sevilla to Parken Stadium.
Copenhagen suffered a 3-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in their first Group G fixture, while Sevilla were beaten 4-0 at home by Manchester City, with the sides sitting third and fourth respectively in the section.
Match preview
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Copenhagen won the Danish Superliga for the 14th time last season, which saw them qualify for the Champions League playoff round, and they managed to overcome Trabzonspor over two legs.
The Danish giants were 2-1 winners over Trabzonspor in the first leg on August 16 before finishing the job in Turkey, drawing 0-0 to ensure that they would be present in the group stage for the first time since 2016-17.
Copenhagen played in the Europa Conference League last season, making the round of 16 before losing to PSV Eindhoven, so it is quite the jump in quality for the team this term, and they found it difficult in their Group G opener, going down 3-0 against Dortmund in Germany.
The Lions have actually lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, including two in the league, and they will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 defeat to OB on Saturday.
Jess Thorup's side face a huge task to avoid finishing bottom of this section and might arguably view the games against Sevilla as their best opportunities to put points on the board.
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Three straight defeats to Almeria, Barcelona and Man City had allegedly put Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui on the brink of being sacked, and it had been thought that he would be relieved of his duties if the team lost at Espanyol in the league on Saturday.
Los Nervionenses were 3-0 up against Espanyol inside the first half, with Erik Lamela and Jose Angel Carmona on the scoresheet, but the home side cut the deficit to 3-2 in the 62nd minute.
Sevilla managed to hold out for a huge three points, though, which moved them into 16th position in the table, now boasting four points from their first five games of the season.
Lopetegui's side have struggled in the league this term, and they were also well beaten in the Champions League last week, conceding four unanswered goals against Man City, who were far too strong on the night.
Sevilla are entering a difficult run of matches, with their next two in the league against Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, before they welcome Borussia Dortmund to Estadio Ramon in the Champions League at the start of October.
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Team News
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Copenhagen will be missing Kamil Grabara and Akinkunmi Amoo through injury on Wednesday, but the home side are otherwise in good shape heading into this match.
Andreas Cornelius is again expected to operate at the tip of the attack, and there will be changes from the side that started against OB in the league at the weekend.
Mohamed Daramy and Denis Vavro will be among those to return to the starting side, but the likes of Viktor Claesson and Lukas Lerager will keep hold of their spots in the XI.
As for Sevilla, Jesus Manuel Corona and Marcao remain unavailable for selection, but Papu Gomez has been named in the travelling squad despite concerns over his fitness.
Lamela was sent off against Espanyol at the weekend but will be available here, and he could feature in the final third of the field alongside Isco and Youssef En-Nesyri.
Carmona scored twice from right-back last time out and should continue ahead of Jesus Navas here, but there could be changes in the middle of the defence, with Karim Rekik and Tanguy Nianzou potentially coming in.
Copenhagen possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Diks, Khocholava, Vavro, Kristiansen; Claesson, Falk, Zeca, Lerager, Daramy; Cornelius
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bono; Carmona, Nianzou, Rekik, Acuna; Jordan, Fernando, Rakitic; Lamela, En-Nesyri, Isco
We say: Copenhagen 1-1 Sevilla
Sevilla will believe that they are good enough to win on Wednesday, but it is difficult to back them with any real confidence at the moment due to their issues early in the season. Copenhagen were well beaten at Dortmund last time out, but we believe that the Danish champions will be able to secure a point on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
