TIME TO GET BACK ON TRACK AGAINST A STADE RENNAIS WITH SOME LAST MINUTE INJURIES

28/10/2020

A lot has changed since that agonising round against Cluj, after which the club played six European matches away from home

It was 20 February. The alarm bells from China were ringing, but few could imagine that mere weeks later the world as we know it would cease to exist. Sevilla FC welcomed Cluj to Seville at maybe the toughest point of last season, with a 1-1 draw in Romania. Cluj would score, freezing all of Nervión. But VAR came to the rescue, ruling out the goal and securing Sevilla's qualifications for the Round of 16 in the Europa League.

No one knew - even less so with qualification in the bag - that European football would not be back at Nervión for eight long months. And now it is back against Stade Rennais in the Champions League. But with the sad absence of our fans in the stands. Stade Rennais' wonderkid Eduardo Camavinga, a member of the French national team at only 17 years old, has stayed at home due to injury, as has his teammate Tait. Julien Stephan's team will also be without the services of Steven Nzonzi, suspended after their last match against Krasnodar.

Stephan has lost Camavinga at the last minute through injury and Nzonzi through suspension

The French team are, in theory, the weakest opponent having come from Pot 4. However, their inexperience in the competition does not reflect the ability of this team, second in Ligue 1, having lost their first match of the season last Friday. They will be up against a Sevilla hungry to win after four matches without victory, despite the good performances in the draws at the Camp Nou and Stamford Bridge. The team might be able to count on the services of Jules Koundé, but it won't be until the afternoon until we find out whether or not Lopetegui calls the defender up.

An old friend will be in charge of refereeing the encounter tonight - the experienced Turkish official Cuneyt Cakir. Plying his trade since 2006 and refereeing the final in 14/15. A year later he refereed his first and, up to now, only Sevilla FC match. And it was none other than the second leg of the Europa League Round of 16 against Real Betis, where Unai Emery's men turned the tie around and won on penalties. Six and a half years later, back in Seville but this time at the Sánchez-Pizjuán, the Turkish referee will referee a Sevilla FC game once more.