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Remind me next time

Warsaw’s National Stadium is the venue for Wednesday’s Europa League Final, where tournament specialists Sevilla are bidding for their 4th victory in 10 renewals against a Dnipro side gunning for their first ever European trophy. Easyodds.com editor Simon Hopper previews the game and thinks the favourites will eventually get over the line…

Dnipro v Sevilla (Wednesday, 19:45, ITV4)

SIMON HOPPER’S VERDICT: DRAW/SEVILLA HALF-TIME/FULL-TIME @ 17/5 – BET NOW

Hot favourites Sevilla should get over the line eventually but Dnipro are a tough nut to crack and are value to hold out until at least half-time.

The match odds look about right, with Sevilla 8/13 favourites in the 90 minute market, the draw a 3/1 chance and Dnipro 11/2 underdogs. The Spanish side have extra motivation here as they missed out on Champions League qualification via La Liga so they need to win this to ensure they are in Europe’s elite competition next term. Certainly form isn’t an issue with 14 wins in their last 19 games (all competitions) while their only defeat since February was a 3-2 reverse to Real Madrid earlier this month. Unai Emery’s side are an effective offensive outfit who have notched in all 19 of those aforementioned matches while they also had the highest number of different scorers in La Liga, with the likes of Carlos Bacca, Kevin Gameiro, Vicente Iborra and Vitolo all enjoying very good seasons.

But the favourites won’t find it easy against a resolute Dnipro side. Veteran coach Myron Markevych has put together a water-tight defence which has conceded just five goals in eight knockout matches while their list of impressive scalps include Napoli, FC Bruges, Ajax and Olympiakos. Those eight games saw an average of just 1.75 goals per match so anyone expecting an easy ride for Sevilla can think again.

Europa League finals are often very tight, with four of the last eight requiring at least extra-time to separate the sides. I do think Sevilla will eventually get the job done but Dnipro’s defensive discipline makes me wary of taking a straight Spanish win at 8/13 in the 90 minute market. Instead, I’ll take a chance on Draw/Sevilla in the half-time/full-time market at a best price 17/5 as the Ukrainians are more than capable of keeping this tight for a long time.

Europa League Final Team News: Dnipro midfielder Yevhen Shakhov has emerged as an injury doubt while Serhiy Kravchenko and Roman Zozulya are both still on the sidelines. Sevilla will be missing goalkeeper Beto and defender Nicolas Pareja but everyone else is available for Unai Emery.

Anytime Angle: Carlos Bacca @ 13/10 – BET NOW. Has already bagged five Europa League goals this season and was left out of the starting line-up at Malaga last weekend so should be fresh.

Banker Bet: Under 2.5 Goals @ 3/4 – BET NOW. Dnipro have conceded just 0.62 goals per game in the Europa League knockout stages and that water-tight defence should help keep the score down in Warsaw.