Sevilla – Dortmund

Sevilla must beat Borussia to save the coach

Sevilla play at home against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, October 05. So far, the Spanish club's management have kept their head coach, Julen Lopetegui, despite a number of poor results. Rumours of his dismissal have been circulating for several weeks. More information has emerged following Sevilla's defeat at home to Atletico. The team has already collapsed to seventeenth place in the Spanish championship. There has been one win in seven rounds. Sevilla have objective reasons for the crisis. The team have lost two key central defenders and not done the best job on the transfer market. There are still significant problems with the strikers. The team lacks a player capable of scoring on a regular basis. In past seasons, the weaknesses were masked by a solid defense and well-built tactical play. Sevilla are currently in a full-blown crisis. It is very likely that the match against Borussia is Lopetegui's last chance to keep his job. A home defeat would be fatal in terms of their playoff prospects. The Andalusians are unbeaten in the Champions League as well. The team predictably got blown out by Manchester City in the first leg. Next, they failed to beat Copenhagen. There is no positive news from the medical staff. New central defender Marcao is still injured. Lopetegui again has to use experimental combinations in defense. Borussia have had a promising start to the season. For a while, it even looked like the team would be capable of fighting for first place with Bayern. New coach Edin Terzic has built a good system with an emphasis on defense that is not at all typical of Dortmund. Long-range stability was lacking. Borussia have three defeats in their last four games. At the weekend, Dortmund lost away to Cologne 2-3 in a very upsetting way. As a result, the positive momentum was replaced by anxious expectations. In the Bundesliga, Borussia have already suffered three defeats and are only fifth. In the Champions League, the matches against Sevilla will be decisive. Against Manchester City, they looked excellent, but the encounter with the Spaniards is a completely different scenario. Here, Borussia need to think more about attacking and ball possession. This style is traditionally comfortable for the counterattacking Andalusians. Borussia are not in top form themselves, and they probably wouldn't mind a peaceful outcome that would suit their tournament situation.