The Europa League final is set for Wednesday, May 31, in Budapest, in case you weren't aware of it or hadn't planned that far ahead.
If Juventus wants to go to the actual final, it may as well treat Thursday night's second leg of the Europa League semifinal against Sevilla as a final.
That's because Juventus is in a comparable predicament to the one they had against Nantes in their season's opening two-leg Europa League battle. There is just one way for Juventus to proceed to the real Europa League final – an absolute triumph — as the overall score is tied at 1-1 following last Thursday's first leg in Turin. (Well, technically they could see the game conclude after extra time and win on penalties, but stick with me on this one, people.) A similar circumstance happened when Juventus traveled to France to play Nantes in the opening round of this Europa League journey. And with an all-Serie A final potentially on the table, Juve has to win to continue their current European run.
And they'll try to do it in a venue on the opposite side of town that boasts an atmosphere that only a select few others on Juventus' schedule this season can equal.
The situation Juventus will face at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium will be somewhat different from what we have seen at the Allianz Stadium last week. Juve will be able to hear the fans in Seville from the start of warm-ups to the final whistle, as opposed to an occasionally quiet atmosphere. The stadium will be entirely full on Thursday night. In the previous round, Sevilla crushed Manchester United there with a 3-0 victory to move to the semifinals and face Juventus.
Just the people who will watch the game are listed.
But, it is evident that Sevilla, the reigning champions of the Europa League, who have won the tournament four times in the 21st century alone, thrive off of that support and have made good use of it.
As a result, Juventus will have to cope with a crowd that, aside from the Tifosi going with them and the supporters in the Tribuna, wants to see them lose similarly to how United did. Nevertheless, they will also have to contend with a Sevilla team who threatened in the first leg at home in Turin.
A story of two halves, maybe, but during Thursday's first 45 minutes, Sevilla demonstrated that they are more than simply a team that will sit back and counterattack. They tried to counteract the often overpowering aspect of how the first leg was playing out by using their pace, their agility, and the type of approach for which Juventus had few answers.
Sevilla will likely want to take advantage of Juventus in a similar way to how they did with United, scoring the first goal after just eight minutes and then dominating the game from that point on.
There is furthermore something to help Sevilla: Although we are unsure of their exact condition, Sevilla manager José Luis Mendilibar received a boost for Thursday night's second leg when he was able to include Lucas Ocampos and former Milan player Suso in the matchday squad. Last week, Ocampos had to be substituted due to a muscle injury in the first half. As Sevilla defeated Real Valladolid on the road 3-0 on Sunday, both were very significant question marks heading into the weekend.
Juventus will undoubtedly need to play at the top of their game to succeed in Spain and advance to the Europa League final. It would sound like a challenging job for a club that has had trouble traveling all season. And that's exactly what it could turn out to be.
But there's something about these Europa League second legs where Juventus has just won, regardless of who they've faced. In what has been a rollercoaster of a season, maybe they will channel that second-leg magic once more, and Max Allegri will actually put his club in a position to pay for cutlery.
Yet notwithstanding, Juventus will soon face one of their biggest on-field tests of the 2022–23 season for (at least) 90 minutes on Thursday night.
TEAM NEWS
Paul Pogba missed the trip to Sevilla after he sustained his most recent muscle strain during the victory against Cremonese last Saturday. Although it was described as "minimal," the injury may very probably prevent him from playing the rest of the season.
The same is true for captain Leonardo Bonucci, who was forced to withdraw from the first leg against Sevilla last week owing to a muscular issue. His comeback has no set date and timing.
The only other member of the Europa League roster that is listed as injured is Mattia De Sciglio.
To add some depth at the fullback/wingback position, Tommaso Barbieri was brought up from the Next Gen team.
Enzo Barrenechea hasn't been seen in recent weeks due to a tendon problem, Allegri revealed at his pre-game news conference. Beginning in April, Barrenechea received an official promotion to Juve's senior team.
Allegri said that his side is in good form and is conscious of the possibility that Thursday's game may require overtime. Both players who start the game and those who come off the bench will be crucial, he continued.
Allegri was fairly evasive when asked about his starting lineup, stating: "I have several worries about the defense, one in midfield and one in the attack. I'll make a choice on Thursday morning.
JUVENTUS PLAYER TO WATCH
On Thursday night, there is some confusion over who will start up front alongside Angel Di Maria, but there doesn't appear to be much uncertainty regarding who will attempt to feed them crosses from the left wing.
You might not be aware that Filip Kostic has gone 15 games in all competitions without collecting an assist. I didn't either until I made the decision to research it.
For a guy whose specialty is mostly setting up teammates for goal-scoring opportunities and other such things, that's a lot of games. (Of course, you need your teammates to capitalize on these goal-scoring opportunities; Juve forwards have undoubtedly battled with this throughout the entirety of the 2022–23 season.)
It has been more than two months since Kostic last contributed his ninth Serie A season-high assist, which came on March 12 in Juventus' 4-2 victory over Sampdoria, a team that has since been relegated.
But the truth is that Kostic, who has accomplished a lot this season, hasn't exactly been the same explosive type of danger down the left flank as he had been earlier in the season. Due to Kostic's subdued performances, Allegri has shaken up the situation for a different danger down the left, thus the playing time that someone like Samuel Iling-Junior has recently earned hasn't been the worst thing in the world.
Showing the old Kostic on Thursday night would certainly aid Juventus in overcoming one of their main problems that have been present all year long—scoring away from home. This is especially true for a guy who is aiming for his second Europa League final (and trophy) in as many seasons.
MATCH INFO
When: May 18, 2023, on a Thursday.
Where: At the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in Seville, Spain.
The game will officially start at 9 p.m. local time in Europe (including Spain, Italy, and other countries), 8 p.m. in the United Kingdom, 3 p.m. Eastern time, and 12 p.m. Pacific time.
HOW TO WATCH
Television: TUDN USA, UniMás (United States): BT Sport 2 (United Kingdom): Sky Sport Uno, Sky Sport 251, Sky Sport Calcio, Sky Sport 4K, RAI Uno (Italy).
Online & Streaming: Paramount+, TUDN.com, TUDN app, Univision NOW (United States): DAZN (Canada): BTSport.com, BT Sport app (United Kingdom): DAZN, Sky Go Italia, RAI Play, NOW TV (Italy).
And Other live viewing options can be found here.
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