Our prediction for this Europa League match:
After surviving Dinamo Zagreb in the last 32, Sevilla will be aiming to move one step closer to winning their seventh Europa League trophy when they host West Ham to their Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Los Sevillanos are a real force to be reckoned with at home, but this game will be anything but a walk in the park for Julen Lopetegui’s troops.
Midfielder Thomas Delaney serves a one-game ban, while the likes of Anthony Martial, Papu Gomez, Suso, Lamela, and Diego Carlos have been struggling with injuries of late. The Hammers, on the other hand, produced a fine display in a 1-0 loss to Liverpool at the weekend, and they are surely capable of matching Sevilla at “Pizjuan”. Taking everything into account, a close encounter is on the cards, and we are tempted to put our money on draw. Ogbonna and Coufal should be the only absentees in the away team.
Highlighted Player (Marcos Acuña):
Marcos Acuna is an Argentina international who plays for Sporting Club de Portugal as a winger. Born in Zapala, Argentina on October 28, 1991, Acuna started his senior career at Ferro Carril Oeste. After scoring 5 goals in 117 appearances for the Argentine club from 2010 to 2014, he moved to Racing Club in the summer of 2014.
The 172-cm-tall footballer looked sharper in front of goal during his spell with la Academia, scoring 16 goals in 78 appearances for the club. In June 2017 Marcos Acuna decided to take a step forward in his career, joining Portuguese outfit Sporting CP. He made his debut with the Lions in a 2-0 win over Deportivo Aves on August 6, 2017.
Acuna plays for the Argentine national team as well, making his debut for la Albiceleste on November 15, 2016 in a World Cup qualifier against Colombia. His main position is left-back, but he is used as both left midfielder and left winger as well.
Highlighted Team (West Ham):
West Ham United are an English football club based in East London. The club was founded in 1895 and it has to be noted that the club’s name was Thames Ironworks back then. The Hammers were playing their home games at Upton Park from 1904 until 2016, when they moved to the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
West Ham have won three FA Cup trophies (1964, 1975 and 1980) and they were runners-up in 1923 and 2006. The capital club finished the 1985/1986 England first division campaign in third place in the standings and that is the club’s highest placing in the top flight. West Ham United have strong rivalries with fellow London clubs, but Tottenham Hotspur are considered the club’s main rivals.
A number of top-class players were part of West Ham in the past and the likes of Joe Cole, Carlos Tevez, Paolo Di Canio, Paul Ince, Julian Dicks, Shaka Hislop, Michael Carrick and Slaven Bilic are some of them.