The battle for the UEFA Europa League finals continues as the last four teams standing set to fight it all out for a place in the grand finale. Sta
The battle for the UEFA Europa League finals continues as the last four teams standing set to fight it all out for a place in the grand finale.
Starting as a UEFA Europa League specialist Sevilla will face the old ladies of the Serie A at the Allianz Stadium (Turin) as they push for a spot in the final.
Juventus ended their appalling away form over the previous month with a crucial 2-0 win against Atalanta to move them one step closer to a return to the UEFA Champions League next season. But for now, their focus shifts back to Turin, where a 1-0 home win against Sporting CP in the quarter-finals was the difference between the two sides.
Perhaps most importantly, manager Max Allegri declared the players are in a “mentally good” state ahead of their semi-final home leg against UEL kings Sevilla, who they last met in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage during Allegri’s previous stint as boss. Nine years after their last UEL appearance, in which they were eliminated by Benfica in the semi-finals, Juventus came into the clash unbeaten in this edition with 4 wins and 2 draws after a series of cagey affairs averaging fewer than two goals per game.
Elsewhere, AS Roma will face Bayern Leverkusen Stadio Olimpico (Rome), they also hope to reach another European final in two consecutive seasons, however after lifting their first European title in over 60 years by winning last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League, Roma’s head into this Europa League semi-final bidding to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan at the weekend. That was a fourth-successive game without a win for José Mourinho’s side, but the manager insists he’s “optimistic” his players will return to form, despite admitting they are “tired” after a hectic schedule.
Success in the UEL might be Roma’s best hope of qualifying for Europe next season, given their poor domestic form has seen them drop out of the top six. Returning to UEL action perhaps comes as a welcome distraction then, and Roma supporters will be confident of securing a first-leg triumph against Bayer Leverkusen at home, where the Italian outfit has lost just one of their last 24 European matches.
Leverkusen certainly looks set to test that record, as they make the trip from Germany on the back of a nine-game unbeaten runaway, with a water-tight defence keeping a clean sheet in four of the last five. They do head to Rome on a bit of a downer though, with a 2-1 Bundesliga derby defeat at home to Cologne on Friday all but ending their hopes of a top-four finish.
However, manager Xabi Alonso is confident his side can bounce back as they look to reach their first European final since 2002. The former Liverpool midfielder, who has the added distraction of being linked with the vacant Tottenham job, has urged his players to make May a month to “forever remember” as they seek a first win on Italian soil this century.
By: Herosportgh.com/ Solomon Duah (Sports Atom)
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