Sevilla vs Inter Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
By Will Day
Finally, 421 days after the tournament's preliminary round kicked off, the 2019/20 Europa League comes to a climax this Friday as Sevilla take on Inter at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.
Sevilla, serial winners of the competition, booked their place in the showpiece event with a 2-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday night thanks to a late Luuk de Jong strike. Inter, on the other hand, roared into the final with a Europa League semi-final record 5-0 win over Shakhtar the following night.
Where to watch?
When is Kick-Off? Friday 21 August
What Time is Kick-Off? 20:00 (BST)
Where is it Played? RheinEnergieStadion
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport (UK)
Team News
Sevilla may be without Lucas Ocampos, scorer of the decisive goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-finals, as he struggles to overcome a knee injury.
Inter are hoping that Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez will be fit as he makes his way back from the hamstring injury he suffered against Bayer Leverkusen in the quarters. They remain without midfielder Matias Vecino, who is recovering from knee surgery.
Predicted Lineups
Sevilla: Bounou; Navas, Koundé, Diego Carlos, Reguilón; Banega, Fernando, Jordán; Suso, En-Nesyri, Munir.
Inter: Handanovič; Godín, De Vrij, Bastoni; D’Ambrosio, Barella, Brozović, Gagliardini, Young; Martínez, Lukaku.
Recent Form
Sevilla have been in excellent form following football's resumption. A fifteen-game unbeaten run guided them to an impressive third-placed finish in La Liga, ensuring that they will play Champions League football next season regardless of Friday's result.
They overcame a string of tough opposition to secure their place in the final, seeing off Roma in the round of 16 before facing back-to-back Premier League opponents in Wolves and Man Utd.
Inter lost just once in Serie A post-restart, winning eight of 12 matches, including victories over Napoli and Atalanta. They pushed Juventus all the way in the league this season, Antonio Conte's side finishing a single point behind the eventual champions. After years of decline, the Milan-based giants are back on the right trajectory.
Here's a look at how the sides fared in their previous five outings.
Sevilla
Sevilla 2-1 Man Utd (16/8)
Wolves 0-1 Sevilla (11/8)
Sevilla 2-0 Roma (6/8)
Sevilla 1-0 Valencia (19/7)
Real Sociedad 0-0 Sevilla (16/7)
Inter
Inter 5-0 Shakhtar (17/8)
Inter 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen (10/8)
Inter 2-0 Getafe (5/8)
Atalanta 0-2 Inter (1/8)
Inter 2-0 Napoli (28/7)
Prediction
Like many finals, this one is hard to predict. Sevilla know how to get the job done in this competition (although there are no more than a tiny handful of players in the current squad who have actually experienced victory in the competition) and former Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui will be confident his side can lift the trophy once again.
Lopetegui's counterpart Conte is a serial winner, who's got his side playing some devastating football. This Sevilla side won't be easy to break down but the Italian's tactical insight and a free-scoring attack give them more than a puncher's chance .
Predicted Score: Sevilla 1-2 Inter