Europa League Final preview: Liverpool vs Sevilla

Firstly, I would like to congratulate both sides on making in to the final which is a great achievement in itself!

Liverpool take on the winners of last year’s final Sevilla in Basel which will be no easy task. Sevilla have been there before and know what it takes to win, winning the last two Europa League trophies.

Sevilla have won this trophy four times and Liverpool have won it three times which sets up for an interesting clash.

Now let’s talk about the match. Both sides come into this match with similar form lines, with Liverpool finishing eighth in the English Premier League and Sevilla finishing seventh in La Liga. Despite this low finish, the riches of the Champions League await the winner.

Liverpool have had some huge victories in this competition already knocking off the likes of Villareal, Dortmund and Man United and success in this final would be a huge prize for Jurgen Klopp after taking over from Brendan Rodgers.

Sevilla is coming off a 3-1 loss to Bilbao in their final game of the season while Liverpool is coming off a 1-1 draw with West Brom after both sides rested a lot of players in preparation for this match.

Liverpool are set to welcome Danny Ings, Divock Origi and captain Jordan Henderson into the squad although it remains to be seen if any of them will start.

Both sides will be without some of their key players with Sakho missing for Liverpool and Michael Krohn-Dehli, Jose Reyes, Steve N’Zonzi, and Benoît Trémoulinas missing for Sevilla.

Sevilla pose a good attacking threat through the likes of their leading goal scorer Kevin Gameiro who has netted 16 goals this season and the tricky Ukraine winger Yevhen Konoplyanka.

Both of these men I see as key players that Liverpool need to keep under control so the likes of Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Kolo Toure have a big job ahead of them.

On the other side of the ledger let’s take a look at Liverpool’s attack which is very balanced. Roberto Firmino leads the way on ten goals and seven assists followed by the much maligned Christian Benteke on nine goals.

Liverpool’s attacking threat will come from the likes of Firmino as well as England striker Daniel Sturridge and Brazil’s Philippe Coutinho. I’m expecting a tough day for the likes of Adil Rami and Timothée Kolodziejczak in Sevilla’s defence.

I’m tipping a 2-1 victory to Liverpool with the goal scorers being Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho and Kevin Gamerio for Sevilla. This victory will cap off a great first season in charge for Klopp.