With just 39 goals scored, Sevilla have only the seventh best goals scored in La Liga and have drawn six of their past 13 games as a result, but they are still sitting in 2nd spot behind Real Madrid and have a comfortable cushion ahead of their nearest rivals Barcelona.
Sevilla's manager Julen Lopetegui had this to say ahead ofm the game "I think we are now at the key moment of the season, we are now going to have two really hard games against West Ham, the past is not important, If you win today it is not about the past but more about your merits today. Of course, one of our dreams is the Europa League and now we face a very big opponent in West Ham, who are one of the form teams in the Premier League and our main focus is to beat them over two games. After that we will see what the next battle will be."
Speaking ahead of the tie, West Ham boss David Moyes said: “I feel it is where the players should be. The group we have are capable. There are times this season where it does not matter who we play, we will get a win, when we go out to play the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and the Manchester I expect us to win, or at least give it a good go, I see this fixture as a great game for us."
Moyes continued with a degree of calm positivity to say “Sevilla have a really good history in the competition. It is two leg, we have this one and we are looking forward to the London Stadium next week. You want to play in Europe. It is the elite to challenge yourself against."
The city of Seville will also host this season’s Europa League final in May – with Sevilla’s Sanchez Pizjuan home stadium the venue.
