Could we have an all-England Europa League semifinal? Yes, if Wolverhampton Wanderers pull off a mild upset and defeat Sevilla tomorrow night in the UEL quarters. And if Wolves win tomorrow night, and against United next Sunday, and then of course whomever lies in the match after that, we’ll have another English club playing European football next season.
Let’s break it all down, starting with the team news for both sides.
Nuno Espirito Santo only has two major worries when it comes to his selection, Jonny who has a serious knee injury, and Daniel Podence, who is now suspended after having picked up another yellow last time out against Olympiacos.
Meanwhile Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui has almost everyone available for selection. The only absentee is Nemanja Gudelj, who unfortunately tested positive for COVID prior to the last round.
“It’s been a long journey, not only this season,” Santo said of his three seasons thus far with the club.
“A long journey that started three seasons ago in the Championship. It’s basically the same group of players. It was about trying to build a team, creating an identity, and we look forward to tomorrow to compete well and play a good game.”
“We’ve been able to create an identity. It’s one of the most precious things in football – having an identity, based on a style of play and how we deal and socialize with our rules and tasks, how we deal with problems that happen.”
“Trying to create a team, recruiting players, some take time, some not, but this is what it’s all about. We have to manage the result and I’m very proud of how we’ve done things and now I can say we have our own identity.
“It’s based on strong foundations of respect and hard work, and this is what we want to show tomorrow – a good team, with an identity, committed to the challenge.”
Europa League Quarterfinal FYIs
Kickoff: Aug 10, 8pm, MSV Arena, Duisburg, Germany
Starting XI Predictions: go to this link
Europa League Form Guide: Wolves DWWLDW Sevilla WWLDDW
Form Guide Across All Competitions: Wolves LWDWLW Sevilla WWWDWW
Odds: Wolves (+235), Sevilla (+120), Draw: (+230)
Prediction: Sevilla 3, Wolves 2
What a story that would make- Wolves going from the Championship to the Champions League! In just three years! Unfortunately though, we think the road will end here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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