From goal.com
Europe’s second biggest domestic Final takes place at the Phillips Stadium, Eindhoven on Wednesday night, with Premiership side Middlesbrough taking on Spanish outfit Sevilla for the UEFA Cup.
This is the 35th UEFA Cup Final and the ninth since it became a one-off game rather than a two-legged affair (although the Inter-Cities Fair Cup preceded it for 13 years). CSKA Moscow won last season’s competition with a 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese sides’ own stadium and now it is the turn of Middlesbrough or Sevilla to write themselves in to the record books.
The two sides are both making their debuts in a major European Final and will be looking to add to relatively bare trophy cabinets. Middlesbrough’s only domestic success game in the League Cup Final two years ago, while Sevilla have not won the Spanish league since 1946 or been in a major Final since 1962.
The Spanish side looked unlikely to match last season’s sixth place finish in La Liga at the start of the season following the departures of star striker Juan Baptista and key defender Sergio Ramos. But new boss Juande Ramos, who replaced Joaquin Caparros in the summer, has does wonders with limited resources and Sevilla look set for a top-five finish this term.
Boro have had a roller-coaster season, with high’s coming in the form of this fabulous UEFA Cup run and victories over Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premiership, but were also potential relegation candidates at one stage after losing against Sunderland and crashing to a 7-0 defeat against Arsenal.
FORM GUIDE
Boro (All competitions, earliest result first): LWLDDL
Steve McClaren’s last league game in charge of Boro ended in defeat on Sunday after Fulham won 1-0 at Craven Cottage. That defeat meant Boro finished the season with just two points from twelve available as McClaren rested key players for the important UEFA and FA Cup games. This will the Teessider’s 64th game of the season and their 15th in this competition alone.
Sevilla (All competitions, earliest result first): DDWWWW
The Spaniards beat local rivals Malaga 2-0 in La Liga on Saturday to guarantee at least a top six finish and UEFA Cup football again next season. They could still make a Champions League spot, but face Real Madrid and champions Barcelona in their last two matches. They enter the final on the back of four straight wins in all competitions; Getafe, Sociedad and Schalke were all beaten prior to the weekend win over Malaga.
ROAD TO THE FINAL
Boro:
Boro qualified from their group comfortably with wins over Grasshoppers, Dnipro and Liteks and eliminated Stuttgart and Roma on away goals in the following rounds. The Quarter-Final and Semi-Final saw two staggering comebacks; Boro found themselves needing four goals to turn around the ties with both Basle and Steaua Bucharest and Massimo Maccarone incredibly scored last minute winners in both games to send McClaren’s men to Eindhoven.
Sevilla:
Sevilla made it through to the Final in a much more comfortable fashion than their opponents, although they did need a fantastic Antonio Puerta strike to overcome Schalke in extra time of their Semi-Final. They saw off Besikas and Guimaraes in Group H as well as drawing with Bolton Wanderers, before eliminating Loko Moscow, Lille, Zenit and Schalke on the way to the Final.
TEAM NEWS
Boro:
The big news for Steve McClaren is goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer is available to start after suffering a fractured cheekbone in the FA Cup Semi-Final. The injury has initially thrown his participation in this summer’s World Cup Finals into doubt, but he’ll be fit to take the field on Wednesday with a protective mask over the damaged cheek. Gareth Southgate has recovered from a hamstring strain and will lead out the side, while Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will also be available for selection following the same injury.
Sevilla:
Frederic Kanoute is a doubt for Sevilla with a calf injury which kept him sidelined for the Semi-Final second leg. The Malian international played for the last 20 minutes on Saturday, but could be struggling to make the starting line-up on Wednesday.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Boro:
Massimo Maccarone has already written himself into Middlesbrough folklore and would love to cap an amazing UEFA Cup run with a goal in the Final. The hero in both the Quarter and Semi-Final’s is dreaming of another last minute winner in Eindhoven in what would be a truly remarkable campaign.
Sevilla:
Javier Saviloa is only on loan at Sevilla from Barcelona, but the talented Argentinian is playing some great football for his new club and will be a pivotal man in the middle of the park. Enzo Maresca is another one to watch for Sevilla, he joined in the summer from Juventus and has weighed in with eight league goals from midfield to make him the club’s top scorer. Fans of the English Premiership will be familiar with Frederic Kanoute; the former West Ham and Tottenham striker has scored five goals in Sevilla’s UEFA Cup run this season, but is a doubt with a calf injury.
PREDICTION
After Boro’s amazing comebacks in the last two rounds the Teessiders will believe their name is on the cup, but this game will be their toughest task to date. The players will want to do it for Steve McClaren before he leaves to take up the England national team reigns and it is sure to be a thrilling game.
Prediction: Boro 3-2 Sevilla
