Challengers for the La Liga crown this season, Sevilla take on Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League round of 32 knockout stages at the Estadio Ramon Sanchz-Pizjuan on Thursday. The hosts have been having a wonderful domestic season in the league and sit second, trailing Real Madrid by four points. Sevilla qualified for this match by finishing third in their Champions League group - a disappointment for Los Nervionenses considering the relative ease of the teams they faced. The record six-time Europa League champions have a great opportunity to add a seventh title to their ranks as the bookmakers currently place them as the second favorites to lift the trophy behind German side Dortmund. Their opponents today are the unsurprising Croatian league champions and Dinamo Zagreb currently sit top of the league table in search of their fifth consecutive title. Dinamo finished runners up to West Ham in their Europa League group, ending with 10 points on three wins, one draw and two losses.
Sevilla’s form at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan has been extremely impressive this season and they are one of only two La Liga teams yet to suffer defeat at home. They finished 1-1-1 at home in the Champions League bringing their total record to 10-4-1 with 30 goals scored and 13 conceded in all competitions. It’s the defense that has seen the biggest improvement since manager Julien Loptegui took the reins and Sevilla have kept the most clean sheets in La Liga since the Spaniard’s appointment. Dinamo Zagreb put forth some impressive displays in the group stages including a 1-0 away victory against West Ham and a 3-0 away victory against Genk. The Croatians have proved themselves capable of solid defensive performances away from home and given Sevilla’s stellar defensive record as well, this could turn out to be a low scoring match.