Sevilla, forced not to fail against Salzburg

Salzburg, with little name in Europe but with a full seven victories in the Austrian league, is a good touchstone for Sevilla at the start of their seventh appearance in the group stage of the Champions League. Julen Lopetegui’s team was fortunate in the draw but cannot fail before his fans, who will cover 60% of the capacity of Sánchez Pizjuán, if he does not want to complicate the way to the round of 16, his first goal. After starting the League well, with two wins and a draw, the Hispanics arrive less shot after the break due to the commitments of the national teams and the conflict generated between the clubs and the South American Football Confederation that led to the postponement of the league match between Sevilla and Barça.

By not playing that match of the fourth league day, the Andalusian club organized a friendly against Alavés on Thursday to avoid being without competing since last August 28, when they drew in Elche (1-1). After that game eleven players left with their different countries but returned in condition, although the Serbian midfielder Nemanja Gudelj and the Moroccan nationalized Dutch winger Oussama Idrissi are safe casualties as they are not registered. The main unknown lies in Lucas Ocampos, who has been working for days at the rhythm of his teammates due to an injury that has prevented him from starting this course yet.

The winners of the last eight leagues in their country arrive at the Sevilla coliseum, with the dream of qualifying for the second round of the Champions League for the first time. The team led by German Matthias Jaissle suffered the absences of two of its main stars last year, striker Patson Daka, who scored 34 goals, and midfielder Enock Mwepu, who left for Leicester and Brighton in the summer, respectively. It is a quite daring block, with young talents, in which the American midfielder Aaronson and the attacking pair formed by Sesko and Adeyemi stand out. It is doubtful the central Maximilian Wöber, who ended up touched in the last game. He met a fleeting passage through Sevilla in 2019, coming from the Netherlands, and he has a desire to vindicate himself.