Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
This Friday evening, continental specialists Sevilla and Serie A giants Inter Milan meet at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne to contest the 197th and final fixture of what has been a thrilling 2019/20 Europa League campaign.
The tournament’s showpiece fixture pits two of Europe’s keenest tactical minds – Antonio Conte and Julen Lopetegui – against each other in a clash between contrasting philosophies and personalities, and both managers will be determined to land silverware at the other’s expense.
With so many technically talented performers sharing the pitch tonight, supporters are bracing themselves for another evening of exciting European football, and we’ve put an #OddsOnThat selection to match!
Check out our 17/1 four-fold below and remember – you can find a more detailed analysis of the game on our Sevilla vs Inter Milan predictions.
What is Betfair’s #OddsOnThat?
Betfair’s #OddsOnThat feature allows you create a customised multiples bet based on your own unique picks ahead of a particular football match.
You can choose from a huge variety of markets and once you have decided on your selection, you can request a price for your acca from Betfair on Twitter using the #OddsOnThat hashtag.
Want to add FST’s 17/1 selection straight to your betslip? Check it out below:
FST’s Sevilla vs Inter Milan #OOT
Inter Milan to win
Sevilla’s incredible 20-match unbeaten run is a hugely impressive streak, though the La Liga outfit’s lack of final-third punch could see them come unstuck against a more goal-hungry Inter Milan side.
Having lost just once in 17 competitive fixtures themselves, the Milanese giants also enter Friday’s final armed with a considerable wedge of momentum, and while Sevilla can count themselves lucky to have squeezed past Man Utd in the semis, the Nerrazzuri’s meaty 5-0 win in their last four encounter with Shakhtar was far more emphatic.
We think the extra sprinkle of star dust in the Inter frontline should allow them to power their way to Europa League glory in Germany.
Read our special feature – Inter Milan vs Sevilla: the road to the 2019/20 Europa League final here to find out more about each contestant.
Over 1.5 inter goals
While Sevilla’s defensive record in 2020 and in the Europa League this season has been superb, the Spaniards looked a far from robust unit in their semi-final triumph over Man Utd.
Sevilla allowed United to rack up an eye-watering 20 attempts on their goal, and had goalkeeper Yassine Bounou not been in such inspirational form, Los Nervionenses might have been blown away.
We’re backing a more clinical Inter to succeed where Sevilla failed however. Inter needed just 12 attempts against Shakhtar to plunder five goals, and if their ruthless finishers are given a sniff of goal in Friday’s final, we expect the chances to be buried.
Conte’s men scored two or more goals in 14 of their last 16 competitive fixtures, and buoyed by their emphatic semi-final victory, Inter have the final third confidence and quality to be just as deadly against Sevilla.
Romelu Lukaku to score anytime
Romelu Lukaku is absolutely on fire and the Belgian international can keep rewriting the record books in the Europa League Final if he notches in what would be his 11th straight goal-scoring appearance in the competition.
The powerful centre-forward – who has already bagged a hugely impressive 33 goals in his debut campaign for Inter – bolstered his self-belief with a brace against Shakhtar in the semi-finals, and the 27-year-old has the attributes to make a similar impact in the tournament’s climactic fixture in Cologne.
Diego Carlos to be carded
Hard-hitting Sevilla centre-half Diego Carlos has been throwing his weight around in the latter stages of the Europa League, and the defender’s penchant for a rash challenge has consistently landed him in trouble with the match officials.
The tough-tackling 27-year-old was booked in each of Sevilla’s last three Europe League knockout ties against Roma, Wolves and Man Utd respectively, and Carlos might have seen red had his nasty challenge on Marcus Rashford in the semis been punished more fittingly.
In total, the no-nonsense Brazilian collected 11 yellow cards in all competitions for Sevilla in 2019/20, and we think the ex-Nantes star is a prime choice to get carded again.
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