Sevilla vs Roma: UEL Final Preview, Odds, Predictions (May 31)
Initial Thoughts
The special one has never lost a European final. The special team has never lost a final in this competition.
Someone’s perfect record is coming to an end on Wednesday night, when Roma take on Sevilla in the Europa League final.
The Narrative
Cup specialist Jose Mourinho is seeking his sixth European trophy and his second in successive campaigns in the Italian capital.
Last season’s Conference League triumph saw Roma earn their first ever piece of continental silverware, and to be on the verge of a Europa League trophy just twelve months later is a massive achievement for a club currently 6th in Serie A.
Sevilla have suffered one of their worst domestic season’s this century, and head into Wednesday night’s final 11th in La Liga with a single game to play.
Despite that, José Luis Mendilibar’s side will hope to lift the trophy for a record 7th time, having been victorious in each of their six previous Europa League final appearances.
So as the unstoppable force meets the immovable object, will it be the master tactician or the bulldozing team that comes out on top?
Nuts & Bolts
Having previously claimed two Europa League titles with Porto and Man United and a Champions League trophy with Inter, Mourinho has never lost a European final. And the self-appointed special one has a knack of grounding out results with limited resources.
Away to Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-final second leg, the German side had 60% of the possession and 23 shots to Roma’s one, but Mourinho’s side still found a way to progress.
In fact, the Italians failed to find the net in any of their away ties in the knockout rounds, relying on strong home performances - where they earned clean sheets on three of four occasions.
Dutch outfit Feeyenord was the only team to score against Roma in the knockout rounds, but in the league Mourinho’s side have been far less effective, conceding in five of their last six matches.
Sevilla’s journey to the final has also been heavily dependent on home form, with Mendilibar’s side unbeaten at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in the knockout stages.
But the Spanish outfit has conceded in each of their last two Europa League matches on the road, and needed extra-time to overcome Juventus 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-final.
Sevilla arrive in Wednesday’s final at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest as the designated ‘home team’. And encouragingly, their last Europa League final victory came against Italian opposition, when they beat Inter Milan 2-1 at the close of the 2019/20 campaign.
Sevilla can become the first side to win the Europa League seven times, and Mourniho can become the first manager to win it with three different clubs.
Surely Mourinho can mastermind a result? But who’d bet against Sevilla in this competition? This one is just too close to call.
Homestand Picks
All odds courtesy of Northstar Bets
Roma wrapped it up in 90 minutes in the final of the Europa Conference League last season, and these odds are of great value for the master tactician to see out another tight win on Wednesday night.
Another way to play this is to back Roma’s defence. Bayer Leverkusen had scored 14 times in the knockout rounds, but Mourinho’s side soaked up the pressure to beat them 1-0 on aggregate in the semis. Likewise, in the Conference League final last year the Special One masterminded a tight 1-0 victory over a Feyenoord team that had racked up 17 goals in the preceding three rounds.
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