Sevilla vs CFR Cluj Predictions

• Sevilla have a 100% home record in the Europa League this season.
• Sevilla have kept a clean sheet in 100% of their home UEL matches this season.
• Cluj have failed to score in two out of three away from home in Europe this season.

Job incomplete

By avoiding defeat and bagging what could turn out to be a crucial away goal, Sevilla have put themselves in a favourable position ahead of this second leg, but their work is far from done.

Despite not coming out on top, Sevilla were the better side in Romania, of that there is no doubt. Julen Lopetegui’s men dominated the ball from start to finish, while they comfortably bettered their opponents in terms of attacking intent, registering 15 shots to Cluj’s eight. That said, though they did create considerably more than their hosts, in terms of end-product, the Spaniards were no more impressive.

Fortunately, Sevilla have a pleasing recent record of doing the business both offensively and defensively at home in Europe. During the groups, they won three out of three, scoring six and conceding zero in the process.

Visitors far from out of it

Even in front of a home crowd, Cluj were up against it, so they’re likely to come into this second leg feeling reasonably content with a 1-1 draw. As things stand, they’re heading out of the competition, but one away goal could change everything.

Unfortunately, their first-leg performance doesn’t exactly point towards the Romanians upsetting Thursday’s hosts. First off, Cluj struggled to build up a head of steam; they were often starved of possession and with what they did see of the ball, they mustered just a single shot on target. Just one travelling goal away from home during the groups doesn’t exactly bode well either.

Hosts to do the business

There’s nothing to suggest that Cluj can upset Sevilla and thus a home win is forecast, though we shouldn’t necessarily expect the hosts to run riot. In the betting, ‘Sevilla to Win & Under 2.5 Goals’ catches the eye. We saw last week that Lopetegui’s side can struggle to score lots of goals, and that wasn’t the first time, During the groups, Sevilla twice failed to score more than twice against weak opposition at home. Their ability to keep teams quiet at home also lends itself to the selection, as does the fact that less than three goals were scored in each of Cluj’s three travelling group matches.