Antonio Alvarez’s Sevilla side may be only a month into their competitive campaign but they have already endured something of a rollercoaster ride and will hope to get back on the winning track when they meet Paris Saint-Germain in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Los Nervionenses would have been expecting to turn out in the Champions League this week but were thwarted at the play-off stage by an upstart Braga outfit who look capable of significant achievements at the highest level this term. After losing in Portugal, an incredible 4-3 defeat at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan failed to amuse the home fans as they saw their favourites crash out in lamentable style.
But Sevilla were not in the dumps for too long as they rebounded spectacularly to claim a 4-1 win away over Levante on the opening day of the Primera Division campaign to quickly answer their critics. The up and down start to the season continued at the weekend as the Andalucians tied 0-0 at home with Deportivo La Coruna, looking easily stifled during that fixture.
“I think we were deserving of the victory,” Alvarez argued after the fixture to AS. “Maybe in another game we would have had far less chances and would have still won.”
Already there are starting to be murmurings of discontent amongst the home fans and anything less than a victory against PSG would be considered a massive blow to the coach’s already questionable credibility.
Forget The Problems
Paris Saint-Germain are another club where the support have big expectations of the side deployed onto the field, and Antoine Kombouare has already felt the early-season pinch, having recently seen his men lose three successive games.
Les Parisiens got back on track with an easy success against Arles-Avignon on Saturday, running rampant in a 4-0 victory that did nothing to flatter the home side, who could conceivably had two or three more goals to their credit by full-time. Sevilla, however, are very different beasts to the Ligue 1 debutants.
Even during the weekend’s fixture PSG’s problems were clear, not so much on the field as off it. Relations between the board and the fans are strained to say the least as measures being taken to make the club a more family friendly visit have been greeted with disdain from the clubs traditional fan base. The Parc des Princes was only half full at the weekend, while season ticket sales have been minimal, depriving the club of a valuable income stream.
Last term’s Coupe de France winners have a great deal to do in order to restore credibility to their side in many aspects, and a strong run in the Europa League would certainly boost their tarnished reputation on a continental-wide basis.
TEAM NEWS
Sevilla
Renato limped out of training on Tuesday and a test will be completed on Wednesday to determine whether he can feature or not. Goalkeeper Javi Varas, meanwhile, has a seemingly minor tendon problem in his knee.
Federico Fazio is out due to an ankle complaint, while Julien Escude is banned.
There is some good news as Luca Cigarini is speeding towards a debut imminently as his condition continues to improve.
Some rotation should be expected for this encounter.
Probable Starting XI: Palop; Dabo, Caceres, Alexis, Navarro; Alfaro, Guarente, Zokora, Capel; Fabiano, Kanoute
PSG
Antoine Kombouare will be minus three players travelling to Andalucia. Central midfielder Mathieu Bodmer is missing due to injury, while right-back Ceara is absent too. Undoubtedly the greatest blow is a knock to offensive midfielder Stephane Sessegnon, which he was expected to overcome but hasn’t.
Jeremy Clement will start, despite being in the midst of a two-game domestic ban.
Generally, PSG rest players in midweek European ties, but such is the reputation that Sevilla command, the likes of veteran Claude Makelele may be given a run-out.
Probable Starting XI: Edel; Jallet, Camara, Sakho, Tiene; Giuly, Makelele, Clement, Nene; Hoarau, Erding
Prediction
Sevilla should have too much quality going forward for PSG, whose defensive unit is certainly not their strongest suit. Les Parisiens will be dogged, but they don’t have the organisation or discipline that teams such as Deportivo La Coruna can boast, and hence they will slide to a loss.
Sevilla 2-1 PSG 
