Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui insists they are ‘a recognisable team and won’t make radical changes’ against Roma in the Europa League.
The one-off Round of 16 kicks off in Duisburg on Thursday at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
“What we can say for certain is that our opponents are in great shape, play really good football and have a strong squad at their disposal,” said Lopetegui in his press conference.
Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui insists they are ‘a recognisable team and won’t make radical changes’ against Roma in the Europa League.
The one-off Round of 16 kicks off in Duisburg on Thursday at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
“What we can say for certain is that our opponents are in great shape, play really good football and have a strong squad at their disposal,” said Lopetegui in his press conference.
“Paulo Fonseca is also a great coach. Having said all of that, Roma are a team within Sevilla’s reach. We want to win and will try to put in a great performance against a very strong rival, remembering we don’t have a second leg to count on.
“Everything that happened from March onwards has forced us all to adapt and we want to show the best version of ourselves, with our mentality and desire to win.”
Sevilla were hit personally by the COVID-19 pandemic, as midfielder Nemanja Gudelj tested positive last week.
“It’s disappointing he won’t be part of this game, but I will use my best available XI, knowing that you win games with those who come off the bench too. We still have today’s training session and tomorrow’s run-out to shake off the final doubts.”
They did finish the Liga season with a strong run of results and Lopetegui isn’t shaken by Roma’s switch to 3-4-2-1.
“We are a very recognisable team, no matter who we are up against, so there won’t be any radical changes. I have one doubt on the XI, but that is practically resolved.
“We will try to play our game in our style, then after that we’ll see how Roma react.”