Will Juventus Reach the Europa League Final?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
Closer and Closer to Budapest
Just four teams remain in the 2022/23 Europa League and two come from Italy. Juventus take on Sevilla, while Roma have Bayer Leverkusen standing between them and the final in Budapest on May 31. The two semi-finals promise to both be entertaining affairs but just who will make it to the final?
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A Return to Past Glories for Juventus?
This has been a rather strange season for Juventus. Their Champions League campaign was a disaster with just three points earned from six games. It was a tough draw though with PSG and Benfica to face. Only a home win over Maccabi Haifa (who they lost to away) secured third place and a move to the Europa League.
Their Serie A campaign has been inconsistent and a top four finish looked very unlikely after a 15-point deduction. That's been restored but their current form has been disappointing. Even so, they are third at the time of writing this article on May 4, so might not need to win the Europa League to be in next season's Champions League.
Nantes, Freiburg and Sporting Lisbon have been beaten in this season's Europa League knockout stages. Four clean sheets have been kept in their six games and another tight match with Sevilla is a possibility. They have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League on three previous occasions. They'll be wanting to win this season 30 years after their last success.
Seventh Heaven for Sevilla?
Sevilla definitely need to win this competition to be in next season's Champions League. They are only 11th in La Liga and eight points behind the final European competition qualifying place. At one stage even relegation from La Liga was a possibility but their form has improved with just one loss in their last nine games in all competitions.
Sevilla love this competition having won six previous finals. They don't do so well in the Champions League where only three of their last 16 games have been won. They finished third in their group this season and ended up back in the Europa League. Sevilla have beaten PSV, Fenerbahce and Manchester United to reach the last four. It's not been easy though, especially on their travels with two defeats and a draw at Old Trafford.
Home form is far better with no losses in the Europa League since 2014. All three of their games this season have been won to nil. Juventus are going to be tough to beat though and we fancy the Italians to get to the final.
Mourinho Bids for Another European Title
Last season saw Jose Mourinho win the Europa Conference League with AS Roma. Now in 2022/23 he's attempting to take his club to the Europa League final with a win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Roma are going well in Serie A and a top four finish is a distinct possibiiity for them. Winning this competition would also see them qualify for the 2023/24 Champions League. Unlike the othe three semi-finalists, Roma have spent all this season in the Europa League. They finished second behind Real Betis in their group to take them into the knockout play-off round.
Only one of their three away group matches were won and their problems on the road continued against Red Bull Salzburg. The away first leg was lost 1-0 but they had a comfortable 3-0 win on home soil to progress. The last 16 saw them beat Real Sociedad, again relying on home form to get through. The last eight saw them lose the away first leg 1-0 at Feyenoord. Home form to the rescue again with a late goal getting them a 2-1 win. Two more goals in extra time took then into this semi-final.
The Italians are the hosts in the first leg and will be out to get a good lead to take to Leverkusen. The Bundesliga side look like qualifying for Europe next season but only winning this competition is likely to see them in next season's Champions League.
finished third in their Champions League group behind Porto and Club Brugge. Transferred to the Europa League, the Germans struggled in the knockout play-off round and needed to win a penalty shootout to get past Monaco, losing the home leg 3-2.
It was easier in the last 16 with both legs against Ferencvaros being won 2-0. There was another poor home first leg result in the last eight as they drew with Union Saint-Gilloise. The second leg in Belgium saw Leverkusen win 4-1. It's 21 years since they lost in the Champions League final but it's Roma who we believe will get through to an all-Italian Europa League final.
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