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Sevilla will attack Leicester without hesitation

Sevilla are having a great season and they are definitely expecting Champions League quarter-final, because Leicester do no seem capable of threatening them, and it is enough to say that they haven't scored a single goal in the Premiership in 2017

Newcastle United

About 20 days ago, Sevilla played two championship games without a win and many have quickly concluded that they are in a crisis. But Jorge Sampaoli's team got back on the winning track in the following two rounds. 

The team from Andalusia first recorded a minimal win at Las Palmas, where no away teams managed to win this season, and then they defeated Eibar 2-0 this weekend. Sevilla are back in the battle for the title, and they are filled with confidence ahead of the Champions League knock-out stage.

Sevilla have rightfully been declared favorites for today's game, and Jorge Sampaoli is leaving nothing to chance:

- Leicester are going through a difficult period this season, but that doesn't mean anything today. We have to impose our playing style or they will punish us. They have a vertical attack, without a lot of philosophy and they often need only a few seconds to punish their opponents. They are an experienced team and that is their advantage. 

The Argentinian expert respects Leicester, but he is going for the win today:

- Our best defense has always been offense and especially with possession. In that case, the opponents cannot threaten us and that is what I was referring to when I said we have to impose our playing style. We will try to attack from the kick-off, have more attacks than they do and get a lead as soon as possible. If we manage to score, it will be much easier to play, but then a lot of things will change on the pitch as well.

If Sampaoli taught us something this season, it is that his Sevilla can play a lot of different systems which the Argentinian adjusts to their opponents. 

Media predicts that they will play in the 4-2-3-1 formation today, but there is a chance that the home team will play in some other formation. As far as injury problems are concerned, the most important is the one of center-back Nicolas Pareja, who couldn't recover in time for Leicester, but Clement Lenglet has been replacing him well since he got injured, so there shouldn't be any problems. 

Vicente Iborra missed their last championship game due to suspension, and he will be back in the starting lineup today. Benoit Tremoulinas and Michael Krohn-Dehli have been out the whole season. 

Leicester reached the Champions League round of 16 through the easiest group in the competition, but what they have been showing in the Premiership is, to say the least, horrible.

After five straight defeats, they are only one point above the relegation zone, and they were eliminated from the FA Cup on Saturday by Millwall, after a goal in the final seconds of the game, and they had an extra player. 

Claudio Ranieri still didn't get fired, even though his style has been figured out and he cannot jeopardize anyone, which is confirmed by the information that Leicester have not scored a single Premiership goal in 2017. 

These are all bad omens for today's game against Sevilla, who break their opponents with their technique and pace, and Ranieri's team will probably spend most of the time on their half of the pitch and in defense. 

- We are the underdogs against Sevilla in such great form, but we need one game to maybe change the momentum of the entire season. A win would change everything - said Leicester's coach, Claudio Ranieri, who cannot count on his best striker, Islam Slimani, who is injured. Ulloa and Wague are questionable for this game. 

- We are serious, very serious underdogs and we are ready to play and fight. Our heads will be held high and if we play the way we can, this could be an interesting game - said Ranieri, and Leicester have given their best performances in the  Champions League group stage, they lost only in the last game against Porto, when it didn't matter to them and their reserve team played.

- Jorge Sampaoli is a top coach, and he and Sevilla are having a great season. He took over the bench from Unai Emery last Summer, changed their playing style a little, but stayed high in the Primera and Europe, which is a great accomplishment. We know that the home team have great players and team, their passing is fast and they often change positions. We have studied Sevilla in detail and we have to play carefully, like we did last season and in some games of this season. The first game is important and we have to record the best possible result for the return fixture - said Claudio Ranieri. He has a great memory from Sevilla, he won the Copa del Rey here in 1999 with Valencia, and his team defeated Atletico Madrid 3-0.