Sevilla will be well aware of their potential to make history as they take to the pitch in Poland's capital for the 2014/2015 Europa League final. Unai Emery's men, who defeated Benfica in a penalty shoot-out last season in Turin to lift their third title, are not just seeking to successfully defend their crown but could also become the first team ever to win it four times.
Even more impressive for the Rojiblancos is the fact that, should they live up to their title as heavy favourites and dispatch Ukrainian outfit Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, they would make it four wins in just nine seasons. Throughout this tournament, the Andalusia-based side have been largely unruffled throughout, with just one loss in the group stages to Dutch side Feyenoord, and powered past Borussia Mönchengladbach before downing fellow La Liga team Villarreal.
Sevilla will be seeking to successfully defend their Europa League title after winning it three times in the past eight seasons (2006, 2007, and 2014)
However, in the quarter-finals they had it tough against Eastern European opposition as Russian champions Zenit gave them a real fright in a tense 2-2 draw during the second leg. Fortunately, though, Sevilla made it through to the semi-finals, where they easily cruised past Fiorentina 5-0 on aggregate.
As they now prepare to overcome one last hurdle in Warsaw, there will be an added incentive to lift the Europa League title. As per UEFA's rules, the winner of this season's Europa League will be given an automatic spot in the 2015/2016 Champions League group stage. This is because this year's finalists Barcelona and Juventus have already secured their spots by winning La Liga and Serie A.
Were this to happen, Spain would enjoy having five teams in Europe's premier competition. The same automatic qualification benefit would also apply to Dnipro as they aspire to win their first ever continental title and the Ukrainians, viewed as rank outsiders to even get to this stage, will not make it easy for their more experienced opponents.
Here is how the reigning Europa League champions Sevilla compare against their Ukrainian challengers:
Dnipro v Sevilla: this season's stats ... #UEL pic.twitter.com/pOr6KBMcfI
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 14, 2015
In beating title-favourites Napoli, they have secured their first ever appearance at a European final following two quarter-final appearances in the Champions League back in the 1980's. For coach Myron Markevych's team - largely unknown outside Ukraine - this has been a successful tournament beyond their wildest dreams.
Myron Markevych's side has overcome the odds to set up a historic final against Sevilla this season
Not surprisingly, given Dnipro's inexperience, they have been written off for large spells of this tournament, but they managed to secure a spot in the knock-out rounds despite earning only seven points in the group stage - the worst out of any of the 24 qualifying teams. Slowly but surely - quite like Greece at the EURO 2004 - Dnipro have worked their way through to this final and will want to pull off the ultimate shock this evening. Yet, the odds, on paper do not look in their favour: this will be the first ever meeting between them and Sevilla have never lost to Ukrainian opposition.
Additionally, Dnipro will have to do without several players (Roman Zozulya, Serhiy Kravchenko, and possibly Yevhen Shakhov) due to varying injuries. Meanwhile, the reigning champions still have goalkeeper Beto and defender Nicolas Pareja on the treatment table for shoulder and knee issues respectively and will not be able to count on their services in tonight's game.
For both teams, a win this evening would be historic. Will Sevilla make it an unprecedented four titles and make a return to the Champions League? Or will Dnipro again disrupt their plans as they have done to each and every team they have met since scraping through to the knock-out rounds?
Make sure you do not miss out on the conclusion of the 2014/2015 Europa League by checking LiveSoccerTV.com's Europa League page for all the viewing options in your specific country!
Team sheets for the UEFA Europa League final: Sevilla vs Dnipro
Sevilla's Starting XI: Rico, Vidal, Kolo, Carrico, Tremoulinas; Krychowiak, Mbia, Reyes, Banega, Vitolo; Bacca.
Dnipro's Starting XI: Boyko, Douglas, Fedetskiy, Kankava, Léo Matos, Cheberyachko, Fedorchuk, Rotan, Kalinić, Konoplyanka, Matheus.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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