Sevilla will be targeting a solid advantage when they host Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie. While Fenerbahce have been a good form lately, the Spaniards will be banking on their vast experience in this competition to give them the edge here.
A 3-2 aggregate victory over Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven was enough to see Sevilla progress from the knockout playoffs. Having claimed a 3-0 victory in the first meeting in Spain, they just about held on to progress after losing 2-0 in the return fixture.
Sevilla are hugely experienced in this stage of the competition having gone on to win the title a record six times. This year’s tournament is proving to be a welcome distraction from a woeful La Liga campaign as Jorge Sampaoli’s men head into Thursday’s clash of the back of a 6-1 domestic defeat to Atletico Madrid.
One thing that will give Sevilla hope ahead of the visit of Fenerbahce is their recent record at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. They have won five of their last six home matches across all competitions and will take confidence from the win over PSV in the previous round.
Fenerbahce are having a fine Europa League campaign and are unbeating despite playing several qualifying rounds. The claimed four wins and two draws from six group stage matches to finish top of their group and drew a bye into the round of 16.
The Turks’ good form is not just limited to the Europa League as they last suffered defeat in all competitions back in early January. They are unbeaten in their last eight matches and travel to Spain off the back of a 2-1 win at Kayserispor in a Super Lig fixture last Saturday.
The win at Kayserispor highlights a solid away record for Fenerbahce, who have suffered just one defeat in their last 13 matches across all competitions. They are also unbeaten on their travels in this season’s Europa League.
How the bookies view it
Sevilla are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies and priced at 3/4 by William Hill to claim the win. A victory for Fenerbahce is valued at 4/1 by SBK while a draw is set at odds od 16/5 by bet365.
Head to head
Sevilla have a 2-1 edge from three previous matches against Fenerbahce. The last meeting between both sides was a friendly in 2014 which ended 2-0 in favour of the Spaniards.
Players to watch
While Sevilla have generally not been at their best this season, Youssef En-Nesyri remains a major attacking threat for them. The striker has seven goals in his last nine matches across a competitions and is priced at 6/4 by Betfred to score anytime on Thursday.
Enner Valencia has been superb for Fenerbahce this season and heads into Thursday’s clash with eight goals in his last four matches. The Ecuadorian striker could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 3/1 with Unibet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Sevilla and Fenerbahce boast plenty of attacking quality, which means Thursday’s clash is likely to produce goals. Both teams could be backed to score at evens with SBK, who are also offering evens for over 2.5 goals while over 3.5 goals is valued at 23/10 with Paddy Power.
The Spaniards scored in both halves in the win over PSV and Thursday’s clash can be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 9/5 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Europa League match between Sevilla and Fenerbahce will be played on Mar 9, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sevilla vs Fenerbahce prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
