Sevilla are aiming to become the first team ever to win the Europa League for a third consecutive season when they take on Liverpool in the final in
ADVERTISEMENTSevilla are aiming to become the first team ever to win the Europa League for a third consecutive season when they take on Liverpool in the final in Basel on Wednesday evening.
The Spaniards already hold the record for the most victories in the competition with four but that counts for nothing on the night and coach Unai Emery is well aware of that and the challenge ahead.
He said: “The present Liverpool looks like its coach, Jurgen Klopp. It’s a very strong team, with a strong intensity, high pressing. It is a team with great football players. They are powerful and can buy lots of good players.”
Liverpool are seeking a fourth title win to match Sevilla’s competition record.
Captain Jordan Henderson could make his first start since early April having recovered from a knee injury while striker Divock Origi faces a late fitness test on his ankle.
On the final Klopp said ‘‘It is easy to enjoy seeing two teams on the highest level battling for each little opportunity, each little advantage, that’s how it is. In the final especially you need to be ready to make mistakes even when the whole world is watching because football doesn’t work without mistakes.”
Having finished eighth in the Premier League this term, a defeat for Liverpool will leave the Reds without European football for a second time in three seasons.
The winner of Europe’s second tier competition however will book a ticket into next season’s Champions League group stage.