Taking a welcome break from miserable domestic campaigns, La Liga strugglers Sevilla host a declining Lens side in Group B of the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Los Palanganas added Europa League title number seven to their cabinet to return to the continent's premier tournament last term, while Les Sang et Or collected the silver medal in Ligue 1, and the two sides will also face Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven for a knockout berth.
Match preview
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No matter how dire Sevilla's season got in La Liga during the 2022-23 campaign, the hosts' penchant for Europa League stardom remained well and truly alive, as Jose Luis Mendilibar steered Los Palanganas to a record-extending seventh triumph in the tournament via a penalty-shootout win over Roma in a heated final.
Continental glory was the perfect tonic to a dissatisfactory 12th-placed finish in the top flight, although Sevilla had even flirted with relegation at one stage before Mendilibar steadied the ship, but another basement battle could be on the cards this season on account of their dreadful start.
Alongside losing to Manchester City in the UEFA Super Cup - in a match where their previous penalty prowess eluded them - Sevilla were beaten in each of their first three La Liga games of the new term against Valencia, Alaves and Girona, but a Sergio Ramos homecoming finally helped Los Palanganas shut up shop against Las Palmas last time out.
Ramos's return to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan was not warmly received by the entire Sevilla faithful, but on the four-time Champions League winner's second debut for the club, Mendilibar's men kept Las Palmas at bay and prevailed 1-0 thanks to a second-half Dodi Lukebakio strike.
Sevilla could and arguably should have won by more on the day, as Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles miraculously managed to prevent a Youssef En-Nesyri strike from crossing the line, but a first competitive victory in two months is just what the doctor ordered for a Palanganas side who have only won two of their last 14 games in the Champions League.
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Indeed, Sevilla exited the 2021-22 and 2022-23 group stages with just a solitary win to their name on each occasion, but both of those came at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, where Lens could become Los Palanganas' next victims barring a rapid upturn in fortunes.
The celebrated Franck Haise has taken just three years to lead Lens from a Ligue 2 team to a Champions League-competing crop, as Les Sang et Or came to within one point of title glory in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season, only to end up bowing to Paris Saint-Germain's superiority again.
Lens can forget about any future European sojourns amid their current predicament, though, as after losing last season's top scorer Lois Openda to RB Leipzig and midfield maestro Seko Fofana to Al-Nassr, Les Sang et Or are currently on a one-way street back down to Ligue 2.
Haise's men had 75% of the ball and 31 shots against Metz at the weekend, but they could not beat an impenetrable Alexandre Oukidja and fell to a 1-0 loss courtesy of Joel Asoro's finish, leaving them bottom of the table with just one point to their name from their opening five matches.
Lens are not complete novices in Europe, but their only two previous Champions League appearances in 1998-99 and 2002-03 ended in the group stage, and an overnight solution to their offensive and defensive concerns must be sought by Haise lest he oversee another chastening loss in his side's first-ever competitive showdown with Sevilla.
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Team News
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The second coming of Ramos was timely for Sevilla, who have another two centre-backs in Marcao and Tanguy Nianzou out with hamstring and quadriceps injuries respectively, while left-back Marcos Acuna joins the former on the hamstring issues list.
Goalkeeper Alfonso Pastor is also on the long road back from knee surgery, allowing Marko Dmitrovic to continue as the last line of defence, while Ramos should be fine to go again unless his 37-year-old legs are in need of a rest, but former Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj has been left out of the hosts' CL squad following speculation over a summer exit.
Lukebakio may also have played his way into a start over Suso on the right-hand side thanks to his winner against Las Palmas, while Youssef En-Nesyri - who scored against Man City in the Super Cup - should displace Rafa Mir in the number nine role.
Meanwhile, Lens' long-term ACL victims Jimmy Cabot and Wuilker Farinez remain out of contention for the time being, while David Costa is missing with a shoulder concern, but Nampalys Mendy is in the squad after recovering from a thigh concern.
On a brighter note, Argentinian defender Facundo Medina will return from a domestic suspension to join Kevin Danso and Jonathan Gradit in a familiar back three, although Deiver Machado and Ruben Aguilar are at risk of losing their places out wide to Faitout Maouassa and Przemyslaw Frankowski.
Another disappointing day at the office for Elye Wahi against Metz saw the 20-year-old's goalless streak in a Lens shirt stretch to three games, but the summer signing should still operate at the tip of his team's attack.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Navas, Ramos, Bade, Pedrosa; Rakitic, Sow; Lukebakio, Torres, Ocampos; En-Nesyri
Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Medina, Danso, Gradit; Frankowski, Abdul Samed, Thomasson, Machado; Fulgini, Sotoca; Wahi
We say: Sevilla 1-0 Lens
An inspired Oukidja was the main reason for Lens' failure to make the net ripple at the weekend, but the Openda-less visitors have struggled for attacking inspiration all season long and are unlikely to turn their fortunes around against a Ramos-marshalled Sevilla backline.
While Mendilibar's side have flattered to deceive on the domestic front too, morale will be higher in the hosts' camp thanks to their belated opening victory, and the Europa League winners' greater continental nous should also help them on their way to a narrow win in Group B.
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