Sevilla will be looking to secure an advantage when they welcome Dinamo Zagreb to Spain for the first leg of their Europa League knockout round playoff contest on Thursday night.
The home side dropped into this competition after finishing third in their Champions League group, while Dinamo were second in their Europa League section behind West Ham United.
Match preview
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Sevilla have been excellent in La Liga this season, picking up 50 points from 24 matches, which has left them in second spot in the table, just four points behind leaders Real Madrid, but there is no getting away from the fact that their Champions League group-stage campaign was a huge disappointment.
Indeed, Julen Lopetegui's side picked up just six points from their six matches to finish third in Group G behind Lille and Red Bull Salzburg, meaning that they are now competing in this season's Europa League.
Sevilla have won this competition on six occasions, the last of which was in 2019-20, beating Inter Milan 3-2 in the final, and the club will fancy their chances of advancing deep into the tournament once again, providing that they can navigate their way through this tricky playoff affair.
The Spanish giants are featuring in the knockout round of the Europa League for the seventh time, and the fact that they have lifted the trophy on four of their previous six appearances is an indication of their credentials.
Los Nervionenses, who beat Dinamo Zagreb twice in the group stage of the 2016-17 Champions League, will enter Thursday's contest off the back of a 2-0 win over Elche in La Liga, but they have only won one of their last four matches in all competitions, drawing three times in the process.
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Dinamo, meanwhile, will enter this contest off the back of a 2-1 win over HNK Gorica on Saturday, which has left them top of their domestic table, boasting 49 points from 22 matches.
The Blues, who are 22-time Croatian champions, finished second in the group stages of this season's Europa League, claiming 10 points from their six matches against West Ham, Rapid Vienna and Genk.
Zeljko Kopic's side are certainly the underdogs heading into Thursday's first leg, but they reached the quarter-finals of last season's Europa League, impressively overcoming Tottenham Hotspur en route to the final eight.
Dinamo are competing in the knockout round of the Europa League for a third year in a row, reaching the round of 16 and quarter-finals in their last two participations, while they have won five of their seven European away matches this season, securing clean sheets in each of those victories.
The Citizens struggled on their last trip to Seville, though, suffering a 4-0 loss in the group stage of the 2016-17 Champions League, while they also lost 1-0 at home to the La Liga outfit that season.
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Team News
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Sevilla will be missing Erik Lamela, Gonzalo Montiel and Suso through injury on Thursday, while Jesus Corona, Jesus Navas and Lucas Ocampos are all fitness doubts.
Should Navas and Corona fail to make it, Jules Kounde could start as the right-back, while Ocampos's potential absence would open the door for Youssef En-Nesyri to start in a wide area.
Joan Jordan is also unavailable through suspension, but Anthony Martial will make his European debut for the club down the left, while Ivan Rakitic, Thomas Delaney and Rafa Mir are all likely to start.
Dinamo, meanwhile, will be missing Josip Misic through suspension, but the visitors are otherwise in excellent shape when it comes to their first-team squad.
January signing Petar Bockaj should make his European debut for the club in a wide area, while Misic's absence will open the door for Marko Tolic to start in midfield.
Mislav Orsic is likely to carry the main goal threat for the visitors in this match, with the 29-year-old finding the back of the net on 13 occasions in all competitions this term, including two goals in the Europa League.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Kounde, Carlos, Rekik, Acuna; Rakitic, Delaney, Gomez; En-Nesyri, Rafa Mir, Martial
Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Theophile-Catherine, Sutalo, Lauritsen; Ristovski, Tolic, Ademi, Gojak, Bockaj; Andric, Orsic
We say: Sevilla 2-1 Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo are more than capable of making this a tough assignment for Sevilla, who have disappointed in Europe this season. The La Liga outfit will fancy their chances of securing a first-leg advantage, though, and we are expecting them to run out 2-1 winners at Estadio Ramon on Thursday.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sevilla win with a probability of 56.17%. A draw had a probability of 23% and a win for Dinamo Zagreb had a probability of 20.87%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.86%) and 2-0 (9.76%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.88%), while for a Dinamo Zagreb win it was 0-1 (6.01%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Sevilla would win this match.
