Red Devils Braced For Sevilla Test

The final two first-leg ties of the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League will wrap up on Wednesday evening with two exciting matches scheduled for global fans.

UEFA Champions League fixtures:

Wednesday, February 20^th
Sevilla vs Man United
Shakhtar vs Roma
Both games expected to kick-off at 19:45 (7:45pm) GMT

Sevilla vs Manchester United

Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville

Manchester United’s place in this season’s Champions League was only secured by virtue of winning the UEFA Europa League last year. On Wednesday evening the Red Devils will take on the most successful side in Europe’s second division, 5-time winners Sevilla. The Champions League is a different kettle of fish though and both sides will be eager to get an early foot in the door of the quarter-finals with a strong result on Wednesday.



Jose Mourinho’s men beat Huddersfield 2-0 for the second time in as many weeks as they reached the last eight of the FA Cup ahead of their trip to sunny Spain. United finished top of Group A courtesy of five wins from their six matches with their sole defeat coming in the final group game away to Basel with their qualification to the knockout phase already guaranteed. Romelu Lukaku scored his 20^th league goal of the campaign in all competitions at the weekend and will be key to his side's chances again this week.
 

Manchester United recent results:

(all competitions)

17/02/2018 – Huddersfield 0-2 Man United (FAC)
11/02/2018 – Newcastle 1-0 Man United
03/02/2018 – Man United 2-0 Huddersfield
31/01/2018 – Tottenham 2-0 Man United
26/01/2018 – Yeovil 0-4 Man United (FAC)



Sevilla currently find themselves in fifth place in La Liga, six points adrift of Real Madrid and the final Champions League spot for next season. Their passage to the last 16 of this year's competition was ensured on the final day thanks to Liverpool’s thumping victory over Spartak Moscow and Sevilla’s draw at home against Maribor meant that the Spanish giants finished second behind the Reds with nine points. Los Rojiblancos victory over Las Palmas at the weekend extended their winning run to three matches, in-form midfielder Pablo Sarabia scoring the winner in the last two, taking his tally to five for the season.
 

Sevilla recent results:

(all competitions)

17/02/2018 – Las Palmas 1-2 Sevilla
11/02/2018 – Sevilla 1-0 Girona
07/02/2018 – Sevilla 2-0 Leganes (CDR)
03/02/2018 – Eibar 5-1 Sevilla
31/01/2018 – Leganes 1-1 Sevilla (CDR)

This will be the first-ever competitive fixture between the pair. They faced in a pre-season friendly in 2013 when Sevilla outclassed United 3-1. Antonio Valencia scored the consolation goal for the Red Devils in their final fixture before their ill-fated campaign under David Moyes began.

Shakhtar Donetsk vs AS Roma

Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv

The defending Ukrainian Premier League Champions could not be in a tighter two-horse race for the title in 2017-18 and find themselves just three points ahead of Dynamo Kyiv at the top of the table, having played one match more. Shakhtar only returned to domestic action this past weekend after a two-month layoff over the extreme winter months. They ended their Champions League group stage journey with a hugely impressive 2-1 win over group winners Manchester City, Paulo Foncesca’s side becoming the first team to defeat Pep Guardiola’s chargers in any competitive match this season.
 

Shakhtar Donetsk recent results:

(all competitions)
16/02/2018 – Shakhtar 5-0 Chornomorets
10/12/2017 – Zorya 2-1 Shakhtar
06/12/2017 – Shakhtar 2-1 Man City (UCL)
02/12/2017 – Shakhtar 2-0 Veres
29/11/2017 – Shakhtar 4-0 Veres (UC)



The team from the Italian capital, AS Roma, navigated through a tough group C in the UEFA Champions League and finished as unlikely winners ahead of the likes of Chelsea and Atletico Madrid with three wins and two draws from their six matches. The Yellow and Reds have lost just twice in their last seven matches since resuming duties following the festive break. Turkish midfielder 20-year-old Cengiz Under has been a central figure in their recent run of results scoring four times in his last three appearances.



 

AS Roma recent results:

(all competitions)
17/02/2018 – Udinese 0-2 Roma
11/02/2018 – Roma 5-2 Benevento
04/02/2018 – Verona 0-1 Roma
28/01/2018 – Roma 0-1 Sampdoria
24/01/2018 – Sampdoria 1-1 Roma

This will be the fourth time that the Ukranian giants will take on the Italians, having last met at the same stage of the competition in 2011. Shakhtar came away 6-2 aggregate winners after they followed up a 3-2 win in Rome with an even more convincing 3-0 rout at home in the second leg. Willian, who now plies his trade for Chelsea was on target that night as the Miners reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Shakhtar Donetsk vs AS Roma head-to-head:

Played: 4
Shakhtar Wins: 3
Draws: 0
Roma Wins: 1
Shakhtar Goals: 7
Roma Goals: 6
 

Shakhtar Donetsk vs AS Roma recent matches:

08/03/2011 – Shakhtar 3-0 Roma
16/02/2011 – Roma 2-3 Shakhtar
22/11/2006 – Shakhtar 1-0 Roma
12/09/2006 – Roma 4-0 Shakhtar