Sevilla hosted Athletic Bilbao at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium in the second leg of their Copa del Rey round of 16 fixture, marking the third occasion these sides have met in as many games. With a La Liga fixture sandwiched between the two-legged cup tie, there was an air of familiarity between the sides.
With Sevilla in third place in La Liga and looking to close the gap on Barcelona, and Athletic facing the threat of relegation for the first time in their history, both sides could be forgiven for having their priorities elsewhere. Nonetheless, Sevilla would see this as a realistic chance of silverware this season, while Athletic have real pedigree in this competition as the second most successful side in its history with 23 titles.
Taking a 3-1 advantage into the fixture after a convincing win at the San Mames a week ago, Sevilla scraped through 3-2 on aggregate. A late scare added some drama that had been lacking throughout a majority of the game.
How they lined up
Sevilla lined up once again in Pablo Machin’s favoured 3-5-2/5-3-2 system, despite naming a much-changed team from the 2-0 reverse against Athletic at the weekend. Only Roque Mesa, Wissam Ben Yedder & Joris Gnagnon retained their places in the side. In-form striker Andre Silva had to settle for a place on the bench.
Athletic also rotated heavily. Setting up in 4-2-3-1/4-3-3, manager Gaizka Garitano made 10 changes to his side, with only Oscar de Marcos keeping his spot in the team.
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