With only one win between them in the 2021-22 Champions League, Sevilla and Wolfsburg do battle in Tuesday's Group G clash at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
The hosts are bottom of the rankings with just three points to their name, while their German counterparts occupy the Europa League spot with two games remaining.
Match preview
Failure to convert draws into wins has been the downfall of Sevilla in this season's Champions League, as a record of three stalemates and one defeat from their opening four games sees their hopes of a knockout appearance hanging by a thread.
Last time out, Julen Lopetegui's side took just 15 minutes to break the deadlock against Lille thanks to Lucas Ocampos's opener, but the Ligue 1 champions hit back through Jonathan David and Jonathan Ikone to claim their first win in Group G and leave Sevilla waiting for theirs.
Los Palanganas are last in the group as the only side yet to pick up a victory in the section, but it is still anyone's game in the tightly-fought section, as Lille are only two points clear in second while leaders Red Bull Salzburg have just seven points to their name.
Lopetegui's side did pick up a confidence-boosting 2-0 win over Real Betis before the international break thanks to Marcos Acuna and Hector Bellerin's own goal, but they had to rely on an Ivan Rakitic strike deep into added time to rescue a point against Alaves on Saturday.
Sevilla kept up their streak of scoring in every home game this season with that four-goal stalemate and have an impressive 19 to their name from eight games on familiar territory this term, but Wolfsburg will not be usurped without a fight.
The new manager bounce is well and truly in force at Wolfsburg under Florian Kohfeldt, whose side have won three and drawn one of their four games under the 39-year-old's tutelage, including the matchday four success over group leaders Salzburg.
Maximilian Wober initially cancelled out Ridle Baku's third-minute opener for Wolfsburg, but Lukas Nmecha came up with the winner on the hour mark to boost Wolfsburg's chances of keeping their continental run alive, be it in the Champions or Europa League.
With one of Lille and Salzburg guaranteed to drop points this week, Kohfeldt's side will sense a perfect opportunity to march into the top two of the standings before the final matchday, but they were forced to come from behind to draw 2-2 with Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
While that result did end Kohfeldt's 100% start in charge of Wolfsburg, this week's visitors have seemingly been handed a new lease of life under the former Werder Bremen coach as they seek their first Champions League win away from home since February 2016.
Sevilla and Wolfsburg played out a 1-1 draw during their meeting at the Volkswagen Arena in September, and the visitors will have every intention of making their first visit to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan a memorable one.
- D
- D
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
Team News
Sevilla winger Suso was only on the pitch for 22 minutes as a substitute against Alaves before coming off injured, and Lopetegui has admitted that the Spaniard's situation "does not look good".
The hosts are also set to make do without Youssef En-Nesyri and Jesus Navas due to serious muscle injuries, while Thomas Delaney and Erik Lamela are both doubtful with discomfort.
Oliver Torres was initially given the nod in midfield for the battle with Alaves, but Rakitic is sure to return here following his heroics in that game.
Meanwhile, Wolfsburg lost Paulo Otavio to a knee problem after 25 minutes of the clash with Arminia, so Jerome Roussillon should start on the left-hand side this week.
Joshua Guilavogui has reportedly been given the green light to travel after overcoming a calf issue, but William, Xaver Schlager and Bartosz Bialek remain on the sidelines.
Maxence Lacroix should return to the back three after missing the Arminia draw through suspension, while Aster Vranckx is an option for change in midfield.
Renato Steffen is also reportedly set to miss out due to a calf injury, and first-choice goalkeeper Koen Casteels has tested positive for coronavirus.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bono; Montiel, Kounde, Carlos, Acuna; Jordan, Fernando, Rakitic; Ocampos, Mir, Idrissi
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Pervan; Lacroix, Brooks, Bornauw; Mbabu, Vranckx, Arnold, Roussillon; Baku, Weghorst, Nmecha
We say: Sevilla 0-1 Wolfsburg
The absence of hotshot En-Nesyri could prove fatal against a Wolfsburg side already appearing more well-drilled under Kohfeldt, and it has just not gone Sevilla's way in Europe this term.
The visitors demonstrated their fighting spirit against Arminia and will be boosted by the return of the highly-rated Lacroix, so we expect Wolfsburg to break into the top two with a hard-fought win in Seville.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
