Sevilla's 4 Key Areas That Manchester United Must Dominate If They Are To Progress

There’s almost a mirror image between the two teams as Sevilla and Manchester United arrive into this tie. It has been a frustrating season for both in many ways, and much of their season is ultimately viewed will come down to their Champions League performance.

The Premier League side won’t have it all their own way in this one, but they can certainly be confident of going through. Sevilla shouldn’t be underestimated however, and have certain areas that must be watched more than others.

In-form Pablo Sarabia

If there is any player arriving into the game in a rich vein of form then it’s Pablo Sarabia. Frozen out under former coach Eduardo Berizzo, somewhat bizarrely following his brilliant performances last season, the Spaniard has forced his way back into the first team picture.

Sarabia often takes up a role on the right side of the attack, looking to drive on the outside and drift in using both pace and skill. United will need to be beware of his movement and ability to unlock defences, as Sarabia can not only produce a final pass but also has an eye for goal.

The 25-year-old must be watched carefully as any end product that Sevilla does produce these days seems to be via Sarabia in one way or another.

A slow team

There is one particular feature of Sevilla’s team that United can exploit and that is the considerable lack of pace. Aside from the attack and in full-back areas, Sevilla are very slow and are often vulnerable to fast breaks from opponents. The United attack can profit from this greatly, especially given the natural raw pace they’re blessed with in players such as Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Martial.

When in a defensive transition they are often slow to recover, with both midfielders being more ponderous types. At centre-back they’ve yet to settle on a regular partnership too, and many times they’ve conceded this season has been due to a lack of understanding at the back. The slowness in the centre of defence means any attackers playing on the shoulder can break away with pace fairly easily.

Lacking in the way of consistency

Despite appearing to turn a corner under Vicenzo Montella, there are still plenty of weaknesses to this Sevilla side and it explains their inconsistency. After navigating past Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey recently in arguably their best performances of the season to date, they followed it up with a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Eibar.

While Eibar are an impressive outfit, the ease with which they picked and pulled apart Sevilla was notable. Montella has looked to avoid rotation in a desperate attempt to find some rhythm at the club, and this performance was evidence of changing too much can be detrimental. Even though we are in February, there are signs Sevilla are still figuring out one another.

This is something that United can undoubtedly take advantage of.

Ever Banega looking to control

After a year away with Inter, Ever Banega returned to the club he had seemingly finally settled down with. It took him no time to regain the form he previously encountered at Sevilla, and over the course of this tie is the key man for them.

His ability to dictate and organised in midfield is up there with the best in the world in his position, and given both space and time can take apart any team. Banega’s been playing at a high level for a number of years now and looks well beyond his inconsistent days.

With supreme technical ability and a vision of the game few others can see, Banega’s role with Sevilla is to hold the team together and construct attacks. United will have to press him close, and above all reduce his angles for a pass. Banega’s passing range is particularly wide in that he can keep it short and tidy, linking play effortlessly, but also go long and stretch out the field.

Stopping Banega from getting to grips with a game might well be decisive in United qualifying.