Season Defining Finale for Liverpool & Sevilla Set for Tight Finish

The domestic seasons may have come to a close in Europe’s top leagues but their is still action on the continent to get excited about, starting with the Europa League final this Wednesday.

As Liverpool attempt to dethrone Sevilla, who are trying to make history with a third successive title, our betting tip battle with Bookmaker Ratings resumes. This week we are taking on BR journalist Dmitry Khlestkin, so first up, with a point awarded for each correct tip, let’s see what he has to say about the midweek showdown in Switzerland.

Dmitry’s tips - read in full here

On the face of things it would be easy to assume that Sevilla are in poor form. But it’s important to note that when they’ve needed to they’ve got the result. They were impressive against Shakhtar in the semis and the only league match that meant anything recently was the Andalusian derby, where Sevilla defeated Betis 2:0. It would be fair to say that they’ve definitely been saving themselves for this final.

Liverpool have also saved their best for this competition, but in both the quarters and semis – against Dortmund and Villarreal respectively – they relied very much on the players in attack, while their defending left something to be desired, particularly early on, remember Dortmund at Anfield? With this in mind, Unai Emery’s side may try to hit Liverpool early on.

Sevilla scored in the first halves of both legs against Shakhtar Donetsk and have more than enough quality in the final third to do so again. A goal in the first 45 minutes for the Spanish side looks well-paid at 2.37.

WhoScored’s say

Sevilla’s form has tailed off a cliff of late and while Dmitry is right to point out that their focus has once again switched to the Europa League, along with Liverpool’s it should be said, their preparation has been far from ideal. I don’t think that they will start this match particularly strongly as a result having failed to come out of the blocks in recent months, even when it has mattered in the Europa League. Indeed, across their last 13 matches in all competitions Unai Emery’s side have been ahead at half-time just once.

Of course, the Spaniard’s do not need to lead at the interval for Dmitry’s tip to come in. After all, in 3 of Liverpool’s last 4 league outings they have conceded early on but it’s important to note that Klopp has fielded experimental and young sides in said games. The German will be determined that with a full strength team out on Wednesday, his men concentrate from the first whistle, so my tip is very different.

WhoScored’s tips

Liverpool’s route to the final was far from plain sailing and the event itself is likely to be far from it too. The Reds have relied heavily on the support of the Anfield fans in the Europa League, with some memorable nights on Merseyside, but away from home the entertainment has been in somewhat short supply. Not only have Klopp’s men won just once on the road in Europe this season in 7 attempts, but they’ve scored just 4 goals across said games and never more than once in any of them.

Of, course, this isn’t your traditional ‘away’ game, with neither side backed by their home support, but the Premier League outfit are dependant on the Anfield atmosphere and in a small stadium with a very limited number of travelling fans from either team that will be hard to recreate. As a result I could see a tight affair playing out in this one.

Sevilla, meanwhile, have been on a terrible run in the league to end the season but since dropping back into the Europa League their record has been strong on the continent, barring a surprise defeat at Molde having already finished the job in the home leg of said tie. Kevin Gameiro has been among the goals but he, like Liverpool as a whole, tends to thrive off of home support. Indeed, amazingly, despite scoring 24 goals across the league and European competition this season the Frenchman has scored just 3 times away from home.

With the scores having been tied at the interval in all but one of Liverpool’s matches away from Anfield in Europe this season I’d back a repeat of a draw at half-time in what will no doubt be an intense match.

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