Serie A giants Inter Milan and LaLiga side Sevilla will be looking to be crowned champions of Europe’s second-tier club competition Europa League, when they clash on Friday night.
For the Nerazzuri, it is a search for a first European title for 10 years after they won the UEFA Champions League in the 2009/2010 season.
Also, Inter are seeking to land their first Europa League title since last winning it in 1998 after a 3-0 win against Lazio. And the last time an Italian club win the Europa League was in 1999.
Inter go into the final in excellent form, winning each of their last six matches in all competitions, while they have only lost once since the beginning of March.
They have only won 14 of their 43 previous European games against Spanish opposition, though, suffering 18 defeats in the process, including two losses to Barcelona in this season’s Champions League.
Sevilla, the most successful side in the history of this competition, have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League on five occasions, most recently lifting the European trophy in 2016, which proved to be their third in succession.
Sevilla have been victorious in their last three games against Italian opposition, beating Roma earlier this month and also overcoming Lazio twice in the last-32 stage of the 2018-19 Europa League.
Sevilla’s record on German soil in European competition is also strong, winning nine of their 13 matches, suffering just three defeats.
They have also been victorious in six of their 13 previous games against Italian opposition and have triumphed in all three of their Europa League knockout ties against Serie A teams.
Sevilla will bring a 20-game unbeaten run into Friday’s contest and have won eight of their last nine matches in all competitions.
Sevilla’s only injury worry surrounds key attacker Lucas Ocampos, who limped off the field during the semi-final against United.
The Argentine is being tipped to recover for Friday’s final, though, meaning that Julen Lopetegui could name an unchanged side from the clash with the Red Devils.
De Jong came off the bench to score the winner against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, but Youssef En-Nesyri could again get the nod from the start, with the latter again potentially featuring as a substitute.
Diego Carlos – linked with the likes of Barcelona, Manchester City and Liverpool in recent weeks – will again be joined in the heart of the defence by Jules Kounde, with Jesus Navas and Sergio Reguilon in the full-back areas.
Ever Banega impressed in Sevilla’s victory on Sunday night, and the experienced midfielder is likely to keep his spot alongside Fernando and Joan Jordan in the middle of the park.
As for Inter, it could be a case of same again from Conte when it comes to team selection. Matias Vecino is definitely out with a knee injury, but there is a chance that Alexis Sanchez could feature, having battled back from a thigh issue.
Alessandro Bastoni is again expected to get the nod over Milan Skriniar as part of a back three alongside Diego Godin and Stefan de Vrij, while Ashley Young and Danilo D’Ambrosio should keep their wing-back roles.
Roberto Gagliardini is also likely to retain his position in the middle of the park, meaning that the likes of Christian Eriksen and Stefano Sensi might have to accept spots on the bench once again.
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