Football Bet of the Day: Sevilla’s UEL love affair to continue

Sevilla v Lazio
Wednesday February 20, 17:00

As a former BBC Radio Gloucestershire commentator, I’ll always have a soft spot for Cheltenham Town, and I like them even more after last night’s 2-0 win over Cambridge United. We’re on the board for this week.

Now we turn our attention to southern Spain, as Sevilla prepare to face Lazio in a glamorous Europa League clash. The Andalusians (who recently won the tournament three times running) lead 1-0 from the first leg in Rome, and I suspect they’ll be able to qualify for the next round in style.

Lazio’s form in this competition has been inconsistent. They were hammered 4-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt and lost 2-0 at Apollon Limassol, and it was only their success against a well below par Marseille that got them through. In Serie A, they have struggled on their travels against quality sides – they have lost at Roma, Juventus, Napoli and Atalanta. The only road wins for Simone Inzaghi’s team have come against teams in the bottom half.

Only a win will do for the Romans tonight, and it doesn’t bode well for them that Sevilla have an outstanding record at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Although they had a hiccup in their last home game in La Liga (they drew 2-2 with Eibar), they have only lost once at home since September, and they have won their last seven home matches in this competition.

Sevilla are taking this incredibly seriously (they played a weakened side in the weekend’s defeat at Villarreal), and even without suspended playmaker Ever Banega, they should still overcome a team that is struggling to score consistently and that has been hampered by a glut of injuries.