Sevilla FC and FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk meet in UEFA Europa League final in Warsaw as Sevilla hope to become the second team in history to retain the title after Real Madrid. Holders Sevilla are eyeing record fourth UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League crown
Dnipro coach Myron Markevych: said "Of course the players are feeling nervous" as they prepare to face Sevilla tonight after a tricky semi final clash with Napoli.
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)
Myron Markevych, Dnipro coach
It's true we weren't planning on playing in the final this season, but you get more appetite once you start eating. Once we beat Olympiacos [in the round of 32] I started believing that we could go to the semi-finals at least.
I am a fan of Spanish football, that's true. Not only me, though – many people all over the world are fans. I like their style of play, how the team performs on the pitch. I think Sevilla are quite similar to Napoli, probably because they both have Spanish coaches and the way they play is similar.
If I said the players were not worried, that would not be right. Of course they feel nervous, but the important thing is that they stop being nervous as soon as they get onto the pitch. Sevilla are a very good attacking side – they have good forwards and will create a number of chances. This is a headache for us, but our defence – at least until today – has played well.
Of course [the prospect of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League] adds incentive. I think it is very good that UEFA gives the winner this chance. It's an additional incentive for both us and Sevilla.
Unai Emery, Sevilla coach
Details matter a great deal when two teams like this play each other over 90 minutes. It's going to be a close call, so our concentration and focus must be more than 100% to ensure that the details work in our favour. [Dnipro] are a very well-organised team – their defence is really solid. They are also skilled at pressing up front, so keeping hold of the ball is not going to be easy for us. That is one of the keys to their success; they can really press the opposition.
We have analysed and studied Dnipro. We have gathered information from Juande [Ramos], as well as [former assistants] Marcos Álvarez and [Juan] Muñiz because we want to know them in detail. All three of these have worked at Dnipro and they know them well.
I don't have a crystal ball, but we'll see what we can do. On the basis of what's happened up until now, we know this will be a very difficult match. We are both here because we've grabbed opportunities – we've seen it, we've wanted it, we've been demanding of ourselves. There have been teams who considered themselves as favourites against Dnipro but then couldn't hold their own. We need to be mindful of this.
To get a trophy, to write history, is an opportunity, a responsibility. The Champions League is an added motivation that really improves the Europa League. The Europa League continues to grow but the Champions League is an extra step that we want to take.
Saturday results
Dnipro 3-2 FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Matheus 22, Bezus 64, Luchkevych 81; Alex Teixeira 7 27)
Málaga CF 2-3 Sevilla (Guerra 67 90+2; Reyes 52, Banega 55, Aleix Vidal 62)
Form guide (all comps, most recent first)
Dnipro: WDLWLD
Sevilla: WWWDWL
Prediction. Dnipro 1 - 0 Sevilla
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