SLAVIA PRAGUE RETURN TO NERVIÓN

Sevilla FC play the first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 this Thursday. Slavia Prague await them, the Czech side returning to the Sánchez-Pizjuán eleven seasons after becoming the first Czech team to play in Nervión in an official game in September 2007. A lot of time has passed and only one player remains from that team, the captain and embodiment of Sevilla FC, Jesús Navas.

Curiously, Sevilla were also facing difficulties in the league the last time they played Slavia Prague. The team managed by Juande Ramos had come of the back of three straight defeats against Barcelona, Espanyol and Zaragoza, adding to a resounding 3-0 defeat against Arsenal in the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League. The match against Slavia, therefore, was a final for Sevilla and was a chance for a team who had started the season well, including a win in the Spanish Supercup, to recover the good form they had lost in the second half of September.

Slavia Prague visited Nervión for the first time in 2007, in another bad run of form for Sevilla, with Sevilla coming out on top 4-2

The match against Slavia ended in a 4-2 win for the Nervionenses. Escudé, Kanouté, Luis Fabiano and Koné were the goalscorers that night. The importance of that game is very similar to that of Thursday's game for Pablo Machín's team.

In December, this time in Prague, Sevilla FC would win 3-0 on the last group stage match of the Champions League, earning their passage to the round of 16, finishing in first place above Arsenal. In the match in Prague, in which Sevilla gave a true exhibition of football, Daniel Alves and, once more, Kanouté and Luis Fabiano would score the goals.

Sevilla have won their two matches against Slavia and their record against Czech teams stands at 4 wins and 3 draws in 7 games

Slavia are not, however, the first Czech team that Sevilla played against. That was Slovan Liberec, a team Sevilla played in the UEFA Cup group stage in 06/07, with a 0-0 draw in Liberec, and in the Europa League in 13/14 with a 1-1 draw in Nervión and Liberec. In both of these campaigns, Sevilla went on to win the tournament. 

In the current campaign, Sevilla have already played against a Czech team at the Sánchez-Pizjuán - Sigma Olomouc - after eliminating Ujpest and Zalgiris in the Europa League play-off rounds. The tie was won with a 1-0 in the Czech Republic and a 3-0 back in Spain, meaning Sevilla FC's record against Czech teams stands at four wins and three draws.