Sevilla put their Europa League crown on the line on Thursday with a treacherous trip to Zenit St Petersburg, while two of the other quarter-finals remain on a knife-edge but Napoli are all but qualified after routing Wolfsburg last week.
Sevilla often save their best football for Europe’s second-tier competition, having lifted the trophy in 2006 and 2007, as well as last year when they defeated Benfica on penalties.
They carry a 2-1 first leg lead into their 4,500km trek to the Baltic after late goals from Carlos Bacca and Denis Suarez overturned a first-half opener from Zenit’s Alexander Ryazantsev.
But coach Andre Villas-Boas expects the home crowd and his league leaders to make it a difficult night for their visitors.
“What can really help us is the support of the stadium,” said the former Tottenham handler.
“The atmosphere that the fans are going to create can really encourage the team.” added the 37-year-old Portuguese coach, who won the competition with Porto, when they beat Braga 1-0 in 2011.
Zenit, who became the first Russian team to win the competition when they defeated Rangers 2-0 in 2008, will be boosted by the return of captain Miguel Danny, star striker Hulk as well as defenders Domenico Criscito and Igor Smolnikov, who sat out the match in Spain through suspension.
On the down side, Ryazantsev is now suspended as is Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay after both picked up first-leg bookings.
“We have to score,” said Ryazantsev. “Sevilla showed that they’re really dangerous on the counter-attacks but I think that in St Petersburg they will play a little bit different football.”
Bacca, who grabbed the all-important equaliser in the first match, feels Sevilla’s love for the competition could have a bearing on the outcome. “With Sevilla having won it three times, there is a lot of excitement about playing in this tournament,” he said.
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