Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
After the Football World has been absolutely rocked with the news taking place out of Zurich this morning, we must not forget there is still some important Football to be played tonight with the Europa League Final taking place in Warsaw. Holders Sevilla take on surprise finalists Dnipro while for the first time the winner gets entry for next season Champions League (albeit in the last qualifying round)
Sevilla will go into tonight’s final as not only the holders but also slight favourites and will look to bounce back from the disappointment of not securing a Top 4 La Liga finish last weekend after being pipped by Valencia. Dnipro who for many have been the shock revelation in this year’s tournament will go into the game as underdogs but since the knockout rounds they have disposed of Olympiakos, Ajax, Club Brugge and Napoli so there is absolutely no reason why can’t go on to beat Sevilla and end this fairytale cup run on the highest of highs. Also not forgetting the winner will also take part in August’s Uefa Super Cup so there is the opportunity of adding some more silverware to the collection there.
If Sevilla win it will be the 2nd time they have won back to back tournaments and it will be the 4th victory in 10 seasons. If Dnipro win they will become the first Ukrainian side to win the competition since Shakhtar won back in 2009 and we also give a massive boost to their Uefa co-efficient.
Here are possible line-ups for tonight:
Possible lineups
Dnipro: Boyko; Fedetskiy, Douglas, Cheberyachko, Léo Matos; Kankava, Rotan, Fedorchuk, Matheus, Konoplyanka; Kalinić.
• Out: Mazuch, Zozulya
Sevilla: Rico; Coke, Carriço, Kolodziejczak, Trémoulinas; Mbia, Krychowiak; Aleix Vidal, Banega, Vitolo; Bacca.
• Out: Pareja (knee)
The highly talented Konoplyanka could be playing his last game for the club as he has been repeatedly been linked with a host of Premier League clubs so will therefore no doubt be looking to end his Dnipro career on a high, whereas for Sevilla it seems there will be no inclusion for their French international Kevin Gamiero. Also this game could have a bearing on the destination of Unai Emery for next season, a win for Sevilla and I would fully expect him to still be in charge but defeat could see him take the reigns at the San Siro and take charge of sleeping Italian giants A.C. Milan.
If I was a betting man I would make Sevilla the clear favourites but in last year’s final when they played Juventus in Turin they were firmly in the underdog role, so in a one off cup final like we have tonight it’s been proven that absolutely anything can happen and there’s no reason why Dnipro can’t do something special tonight. Although the Europa League can be much maligned we should be in for a good game tonight lets hope it lives up to it’s potential.
